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WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL BUDGET SESSION TIMES 2:10 PM IF YOU COULD PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
MAYOR, WE HAVE A QUORUM AND WELCOME AGAIN,
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EVERYONE TO OUR CITY COUNCIL BUDGET SESSION.WE'VE GOT A COUPLE ITEMS TODAY.
LET ME TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH, TO GET US STARTED.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL.
UM, WE'VE GOT TWO MAIN PRESENTATIONS, AND IF WE HAVE TIME, OH, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE TIME, I DO WANT TO HAND OUT TO THE COUNCIL A LIST OF, UM, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS I'VE RECEIVED FROM THE COUNCIL OFFICES AS OF ONE 30 TODAY.
SO I KNOW THERE MAY BE SOME OTHERS COMING, UM, IN PREPARATION FOR TOMORROW'S WORK SESSION ON AMENDMENTS.
IF WE HAVE TIME THIS AFTERNOON, UH, WE CERTAINLY CAN INITIATE THAT CONVERSATION, MAYBE GET SOME OF THE IDEAS, UM, OUT ON THE TABLE IN ORDER TO MAKE, UH, TOMORROW'S CONVERSATION, UH, BENEFICIAL.
SO, UM, THE FIRST PRESENTATION IS GONNA BE A PRESENTATION JUSTINA WILL GIVE ON ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT DID NOT PROVIDE WORK SESSION PRESENTATIONS.
AND ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE HERE.
WE'RE CERTAINLY ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS THE COUNCIL MAY HAVE.
UM, THE, UH, THE SECOND ITEM ON TODAY'S WORK SESSION IS TO CONTINUE TO THE COUNCIL'S DISCUSSION ON THE ADDITIONAL PROJECTED REVENUES FROM C P S ENERGY, UH, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UM, THERE CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN SEVERAL OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES THAT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED.
UM, BEN WILL PRESENT A VERY SHORT TWO SLIDE PRESENTATION THAT'LL INCLUDE SOME FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION, UH, THAT WE RECEIVE FROM A NUMBER, FROM A COUPLE OF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, WE, FRANKLY, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AS MUCH TIME, UH, AS POSSIBLE FOCUSED ON YOUR DELIBERATION ON THAT ISSUE.
UH, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR TO GET FROM TODAY'S WORK SESSION IS SOME SORT OF CONSENSUS DIRECTION FROM THE COUNCIL ON, ON HOW YOU WOULD LIKE US TO PROCEED WITH THE USE OF THOSE FUNDS.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO JUSTINA.
WE'LL TRANSITION, TRANSITION OVER TO BEN AND THEN, UM, AND THEN BACK TO YOU FOR CONVERSATION AND DELIBERATION.
I'M THE BUDGET DIRECTOR FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND TODAY I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE A BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE NOT YET PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL.
SO, JUST AS A REMINDER, OUR FISCAL YEAR 2023 PROPOSED BUDGET IS $3.4 BILLION, AND THAT'S COMPRISED OF THREE MAIN COMPONENTS.
THE FIRST BEING RESTRICTED FUNDS AT $1.2 MILLION.
AND THIS INCLUDES OUR FUNDS SUCH AS AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, HOTEL OCCUPANCY, TAX, AND SOLID WASTE.
AND ALL THE FUNDS THAT ARE, OR ALL THE REVENUES THAT ARE GENERATED BY THESE FUNDS, MUST BE USED ON A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.
THE NEXT COMPONENT IS OUR CAPITAL BUDGET AT 641 MILLION, AND THIS PROVIDES FUNDING FOR SOME OF OUR LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO INCLUDE THE 2022 BOND PRO PROGRAM, AS WELL AS OUR AIRPORT PROJECTS.
AND FINALLY, OUR GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS OUR LARGEST OPERATING DEPARTMENT, OUR OPERATING FUND AT $1.5 BILLION.
AND THIS SUPPORTS OUR MOST BASIC CITY SERVICES TO INCLUDE PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC WORKS, PARKS, AND LIBRARY.
NOW, AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL OVER 95% OF THE $3.4 BILLION BUDGET.
SO TODAY I WILL BE FOCUSING ON THE REMAINING 24 DEPARTMENTS OR 22 DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN PRESENTED.
SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS THOSE TWO, THOSE 22 DEPARTMENTS DIVIDED INTO THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
THIS INCLUDES THE DEPARTMENTS THAT SUPPORT THE OVERALL CITY ORGANIZATION.
THE SECOND CATEGORY IS OUR INTERNAL SUPPORT, AND THIS INCLUDES THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT SUPPORT OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS.
AND FINALLY, COMMUNITY SERVICES.
THIS INCLUDES DEPARTMENTS THAT PROVIDE DIRECT SUPPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY, INCLUDING CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT, TRANSPORTATION, 3 1 1, WORLD HERITAGE, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND PLANNING.
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OUR CITY SUPPORT.AS MENTIONED, UH, THIS INCLUDES DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS THE CITY ATTORNEY, CITY AUDITOR, COMMUNICATIONS MAYOR AND COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SLIDE, THE INCREASE FROM FISCAL YEAR 2022, ADOPTED BUDGET TO THE 2023 PROPOSED IS ABOUT $6.5 MILLION OR ABOUT 12%.
AND THIS IS DUE TO, UH, INCREASES IN CIVILIAN COMPENSATION AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL, UH, PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT FOR THE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT FUND.
AND FINALLY, ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS IN BUDGET IMPROVEMENTS THAT I'LL GO OVER IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, INCLUDED IN IMPROVEMENTS FOR OUR CITY ATTORNEY IS ABOUT $200,000, AND THIS IS FOR LEGAL SUPPORT FOR POSSIBLE CHARTER AMENDMENTS, AS WELL AS ONE POSITION TO SUPPORT THE CITY COUNCIL ACTION SYSTEM FOR CITY CLERK.
WE'VE INCLUDED ABOUT 230,004 POSITIONS TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY TO RECORDS AND STRENGTHEN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
WE'VE INCLUDED 316,000 FOR STATE CONSULTANT CONTRACTS TO REPRESENT THE CITY AND ITS INTEREST AT THE 88TH STATE LEGISLATURE AND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR CONTRACT GRANT WRITING SERVICES.
AND FINALLY, FOR MILITARY AND VETERAN AFFAIRS.
THE 2023 PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES $150,000 FOR HIRING OUR HEROES MILITARY SPOUSE, WHICH WILL PROVIDE 30 FELLOWSHIPS.
OUR NEXT CATEGORY IS INTERNAL SUPPORT.
NOW THIS INCLUDES DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS BUILDING EQUIPMENT SERVICES, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, FINANCE, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, AND RISK MANAGEMENT.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CHART, THIS BUDGET INCREASES FROM FISCAL YEAR 2022, ADOPTED BY ABOUT $11 MILLION OR A 4.6% INCREASE.
THIS INCLUDES INCREASES TO CIVIL AND COMPENSATION, ABOUT $2.4 MILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE, I'M SORRY, IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES IMPROVEMENTS AND SUPPORT A $1.8 MILLION INCREASE IN OUR PROPERTY INSURANCE PREMIUM AND BY 870,000 IN OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.
AND THESE IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE $170,000 FOR OUR DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION OFFICE TO PROVIDE A DISABILITY STATUS REPORT THAT WILL PROVIDE A BASELINE FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF DISABILITY AND IMPLEMENTING CITY PROGRAM AND SERVICES AND $70,000 TO COMPLETE PHASE TWO OF THE LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN.
THE, THE BUDGET INCLUDES OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FINANCIAL SOFTWARE AND ABOUT $325,000 FOR INNOVATION OF, OF THAT 275,000 TO CONTINUE OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND $50,000 TO ENHANCE OUR INNOVATION ACADEMY.
AND FINALLY, FOR OUR BUILDING EQUIPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, 270,000 IS INCLUDED TO MAINTAIN OUR NEW PARK POLICE HEADQUARTERS.
THE FINAL CATEGORIES ARE COMMUNITY SERVICES.
THIS INCLUDES, UH, DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS 3 1 1, UH, PLANNING AND WORLD HERITAGE.
NOW, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SLIDE, THE BUDGET INCREASES FOR THESE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT $4.7 MILLION OR ALMOST 9%.
AND THIS IS DUE TO CIVILIAN COMPENSATION, INCREASES $200,000 FOR A QUIET ZONE MAINTENANCE AND THE CITY TOWER BEING FULLY OPERATIONAL IN FISCAL YEAR 2023.
JUST WANTED TO NOTE A COUPLE OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN SOME OF THESE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, FOR CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS, 185,000 IS INCLUDED TO ENHANCE SECURITY AT LA VITA AND MARKET SQUARE, AND IT ALSO ADDS, UH, FUNDING IN ONE POSITION TO SUPPORT PARKING OPERATIONS.
AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S $200,000 INCLUDED FOR QUIET ZONE MAINTENANCE.
AND FINALLY, FOR WORLD HERITAGE, IT REDIRECTS FUNDING TO ADD TWO POSITIONS TO SUPPORT WORLD HERITAGE OPERATIONS.
NOW, FINALLY, I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE A QUICK UPDATE ON OUR VISION ZERO AND MIDBLOCK CROSSING.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 ADOPTED BUDGET INCLUDES $5.7 MILLION FOR NINE CORRIDORS AND 28 MIDBLOCK CROSSINGS.
AS A, AS AN AN UPDATE ON THE, UH, STATUS OF THESE ONE OF CORRIDOR WILL BE COMPLETED IN FISCAL YEAR 20 23, 4 WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN 2023 AND F THE O THE REMAINING FOUR WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN FISCAL YEAR 2024.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I'D
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LIKE TO HAND IT OVER TO BEN FOR C P SS.GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, UH, I'LL JUST DO BE DOING A VERY BRIEF PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON ON A COUPLE OF FOLLOW-UP ITEMS FROM OUR C P S UH, DISCUSSION.
FIRST, I WANTED TO START WITH THE REAP PROPOSAL AND, UH, A SLIGHT CHANGE THAT WE HAVE MADE HERE.
SO IF YOU WERE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS OPTION, UH, WE DID WANT TO, UH, UH, ADD IN ONE ELEMENT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
UM, THE PART ON THE LEFT IS, UH, UH, EXACTLY AS WE'D PRESENTED TO YOU BEFORE.
UH, IT'S A SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR CONTRIBUTION TO REAP.
2 MILLION OF THAT WOULD GO INTO THE REAP FUND BALANCE TO PROVIDE FUTURE ASSISTANCE TO OUR LOW INCOME, UH, UH, RATE PAYERS.
UH, BRINGING THE TOTAL REAP FUND BALANCE TO 9.6 MILLION.
5.5 MILLION WOULD BE, UH, PUT INTO REAP FOR IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
UH, FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS, THEY COULD GET A CREDIT UP TO $300 NOT TO EXCEED THEIR PAST DUE BALANCE.
UH, WHAT WE DID CHANGE HERE WAS WE GOT SOME QUESTIONS, UH, FROM A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS REGARDING CRITICAL CARE CUSTOMERS, AND WE SENT OUT SOME SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION RIGHT BEFORE THE LAST WORK SESSION ON APRIL 30TH THAT INCLUDED THAT THERE WERE ABOUT A THOUSAND ACCOUNTS, UH, THAT WERE CRITICAL CARE CUSTOMERS THAT HAD A TOTAL PAST DUE BALANCE OF ABOUT $773,000.
IN LOOKING AT THOSE ACCOUNTS WORKING WITH C P S, WE IDENTIFIED THERE'S ROUGHLY ABOUT 370 OF THOSE ACCOUNTS THAT WOULDN'T QUALIFY FOR REAP BECAUSE THEY DON'T MEET THE LOW INCOME, UH, THRESHOLD OR THE CRITERIA.
SO WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING HERE IS THAT IF YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROPOSAL, WE WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND AMENDING THE REAP GUIDELINES TO INCLUDE, UH, THE ABILITY FOR CUSTOMERS ON CRITICAL ON THE CRITICAL CARE LIST TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE THROUGH REAP.
IF THIS WERE TO MOVE FORWARD, WE'D AMEND THOSE GUIDELINES, UM, UH, WITH OUR AGREEMENT WITH C P S, UH, THROUGH THE BUDGET ORDINANCE.
UH, THE CHANGES IN THE THRESHOLD AND THE, AND THE GUIDANCE WOULD STILL NEED TO BE APPROVED BY THE REAP BOARD.
AND THEY DO HAVE A BOARD MEETING SCHEDULED ON SEPTEMBER 19TH.
THE OTHER INFORMATION WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU WAS THAT IF YOU DECIDED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CREDIT PROPOSAL, JUST BASED ON TIMING, WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT AS WE PREVIOUSLY TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE CREDIT WAS GOING TO BE ON THE OCTOBER BILL, BUT JUST BECAUSE OF TIMING, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT THE NOVEMBER BILL.
WE WOULD STILL BE, UH, UH, UNDER THIS OPTION DOING THE CREDIT BASED ON JULY, 2022 USAGE.
UH, BUT THAT CREDIT WOULD APPLY ON THE NOVEMBER BILL.
WE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, ADDITIONAL OPT-OUT OPTIONS.
SO, UH, BEFORE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THE ABILITY FOR CUSTOMERS TO BE ABLE TO OPT OUT AND CONTRIBUTE DOLLARS TO REAP TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO LOW INCOME RATE PAYERS, UM, WE GOT A QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER THAT COULD BE DONE FOR WEATHERIZATION AS WELL TO INCLUDE MINOR REPAIRS.
WE HAVE COORDINATED, COORDINATED THAT WITH C P SS AND WE ARE ABLE TO DO THAT, OR THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, SO AGAIN, YOU WOULD HAVE THE OPTION OF THE CREDIT APPEARING ON THE NOVEMBER, 2022 BILL.
THEY WOULD ESTABLISH A WEBPAGE WHERE CUSTOMERS COULD GO TO AND OPT OUT.
AND IN THAT OPT-OUT, THEY COULD REDIRECT THEIR CREDIT, UH, INTO THE REPROGRAM EITHER FOR ASSISTANCE TO LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS OR TO DO WEATHERIZATION TO INCLUDE MINOR REPAIR.
THE TIMELINE WOULD STILL BE THE SAME.
IT WOULD BE OUT THERE UNTIL DECEMBER 31ST.
THEY WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO OPT OUT.
AND THEN AGAIN, I MENTIONED THAT THEY WOULD BE USING THAT ONLINE FORM.
WE DID ALSO GET A QUESTION ABOUT THE ABILITY TO OPT IN.
UM, UNDER THIS SCENARIO, IT WOULD BE DOLLARS WOULD BE ALLOCATED TO A PROGRAM THROUGH THE PROPOSED BUDGET, AND THEN CUSTOMERS WOULD GO ONLINE AND OPT INTO THE CREDIT.
WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS WITH C P S AND, AND BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE, UH, AN ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGE TO DO IT.
AND, AND SO THEY CERTAINLY DON'T, THEY SIMPLY DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO IT.
IT'S A DIFFERENT SCENARIO THAN IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE CREDIT ON THE BILL, WHICH WOULD BE THERE IN NOVEMBER.
YOU WOULD PROVIDE ALL THE INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS ON, ON THEIR ABILITY TO OPT OUT INTO REAP FOR THOSE TWO OPTIONS.
BUT ON AN OPT-IN, THERE ARE ABOUT 900,000 ELECTRIC.
CUSTOMERS WOULD HAVE TO COMMUNICATE WHAT THEIR CREDIT IS.
IT WOULD BE DONE OUTSIDE OF THE BILL.
AND THEN I THINK THE CHALLENGE BECOMES THAT.
I THINK IT COULD RESULT IN A LOT OF MANUAL ADJUSTMENTS AS CUSTOMERS COME BACK AND EITHER AREN'T AWARE OF THEIR ABILITY TO OPT INTO THEIR CREDIT, OR IN SOME CASES YOU HAVE, UH, A NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE BEHIND AND HAVE PAST DUE BALANCES AS THAT COLLECTION PROCESS STARTS.
THAT COULD GENERATE THE, WHY DIDN'T I GET MY CREDIT? IT IS JUST, IT'S GONNA GENERATE A LOT OF, I THINK,
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CHALLENGES FROM A BUILD PROCESSING STANDPOINT, FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE STANDPOINT, AND QUITE HONESTLY, MAYBE FROM A CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDPOINT AS WELL, IN TERMS OF WORKING YOUR WAY THROUGH ALL OF THAT.SO, UM, WE DID WANNA SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU, UH, AND MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BEN AND JUSTINA FOR THE PRESENTATION.
LET, LEMME JUST START THERE AND WE'LL GET RIGHT INTO DISCUSSION.
UM, FIRST WE, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE C P S, UH, REVENUES, UH, RECEIVED BY THE CITY.
UH, I THINK WE AGAIN, HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS RATE PAYER MONEY AND IT'S COMING AT THE RESULT OF EXTREMELY HIGH GAS PRICES AND ENERGY COSTS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, EXACERBATED BY MANY WORLDWIDE SITUATIONS, BUT ALSO HERE AT HOME, INCLUDING INFLATION.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, OBVIOUSLY THE HIGH ENERGY DEMAND OVER THE SUMMER MONTHS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A THREE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS BUDGET AND WE SPENT, UH, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT WHAT AMOUNTS TO ROUGHLY ONE AND A HALF PERCENT OF IT.
THAT BEING SAID, THOUGH, THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, SOME PROPOSALS FOR ALTERNATIVE USES OF THAT MONEY.
I THINK STAFF HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT THERE ARE QUESTIONS, UH, AND CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, OUR COLLECTIVE ABILITY TO SPEND DOWN THAT MONEY EFFICIENTLY.
UH, AND, AND THAT'S BEEN MADE CLEAR ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, PARTICULARLY IN A A AS IT RELATES TO ALTERNATIVES FOR WHICH WE ARE ALREADY SPENDING THAT MONEY.
UH, THAT BEING SAID, I, I APPRECIATE THE WORK OF THE STAFF, UH, AND TRYING TO ADDRESS A LOT OF THE CONCERNS.
I THINK WE ARE DOING THAT THROUGH AN OPT OUT.
UH, AND LET ME JUST GO ON RECORD BY SAYING THAT I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THOSE, UH, AT ANY LEVEL OF THE CUSTOMERS IN THE C P S SERVICE AREA TO UTILIZE AND EXERCISE THAT OPT OUT IF THEY ARE, UH, NOT IN NEED OF THAT REBATE.
UH, AND THAT MONEY, AGAIN, WOULD GO TO BENEFICIAL PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, WHETHER IT'S, UM, SUPPORT FOR LOWER INCOME CUSTOMERS OR ADDITIONAL WEATHERIZATION, UH, FOR WHICH WE WILL HAVE TO, UH, CREATE PROGRAMMING OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO PROVIDE.
UH, FINALLY, LET ME SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A FEW MONTHS AGO, UH, GIVEN WHERE THE UTILITY IS, WE AS A BODY APPROVED A RATE ADJUSTMENT AT THE TIME WE DISCUSSED, UH, THE COST BURDEN OF TWO TO $3 A MONTH ON RATE PAYERS.
AND I THINK IT WAS A VERY APPROPRIATE DISCUSSION.
IT IS, UM, I DON'T THINK THE VALUE OF THAT MONEY HAS CHANGED ALL TOO MUCH FOR ESPECIALLY OUR LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS.
AND SO IN LIGHT OF THE, THOSE CONCERNS AND THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE, UH, TO PROVIDE SOME RELIEF THAT IS CORRESPONDING WITH THE, THE TAX, UM, RELIEF THAT WE'RE PROVIDING IN THE HOMESTEAD, AS WELL AS THE SENIOR EXEMPTION, AS WELL AS THE DISABLED EXEMPTION, WE SHOULD DO WHAT WE CAN.
AND SO I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.
UH, I ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE POLICY DISCUSSION THAT WE DO NEED TO HAVE GOING FORWARD ABOUT, UH, WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING AS A POLICY MATTER IF WE DO EXPERIENCE ANOTHER WINDFALL ON THE CITY DIVIDEND OFF THE C P S REVENUES RELATED TO EITHER HIGH GAS PRICES OR ENERGY COSTS, UM, INFLATION OR, UH, HIGH DEMAND OR ANY COMBINATION OF THE ABOVE.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL.
WE DO NEED TO REACH CONSENSUS TODAY AND DIRECTION FOR THURSDAY.
SO LEMME START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KEO.
UM, MAYOR, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THE C P S ISSUE FIRST.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN A STRONG COMPONENT OF USING THE SURPLUS FUNDS TO USE, UM, ON WEATHERIZATION PROJECTS.
I STILL BELIEVE IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO HELP OUR CITY PREPARE FOR EXTREME UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER.
THERE'S THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, UM, VULNERABLE PEOPLE, FAMILIES WHO NEED HELP WHEN IT'S TOO HOT OR WHEN IT'S TOO COLD, AN INVESTMENT IN WEATHERIZATION, SAVES RATE, PAYER MONEY AND CAN SAVE LIVES.
SINCE THE IDEA WAS FIRST PUT ON THE TABLE, I'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS, MESSAGES, UM, EMAILS, TEXTS FROM CONSTITUENTS, SOME WHO LIKE THE WEATHERIZATION IDEA, AND OTHERS WHO WOULD RATHER WE RE REFUND THE SURPLUS TO THE RATE PAYER.
WHAT I'VE COME TO UNDERSTAND IS IT'S NOT AN EITHER OR ISSUE.
IT'S, IT'S NOT EITHER WEATHERIZATION OR A REBATE.
IT, IT CAN BE FUN FOR THOSE WHO PREFER IT OR NEED IT, AND IT'S THE INDIVIDUAL RATE PAYER WHO SHOULD DECIDE WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH THEIR MONEY.
I DO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DETAILS, BEN.
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UM, WE CAN MAYBE TALK ABOUT IT LATER, BUT I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES, UM, FOR OPTING FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO OPT IN.I UNDERSTAND IT'S A LOT OF SOUNDS LIKE ADMIN WORK, UM, BUT I DON'T THINK THEY'RE INSURMOUNTABLE.
UM, UM, IS THERE A COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? WHAT, WHAT IS WHAT IS KIND OF THE BIG CHALLENGE? I, I, I'LL LET C P SS, UM, OKAY.
COMMENT ON A COUPLE OF PIECES OF THOSE.
THE OTHER THING I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T MENTION EARLIER THAT I, THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT TOO IS THAT 900,000 CUSTOMERS OPTING IN.
UM, HAVING THE ABILITY TO DO THAT ON A WEBPAGE, UH, A LOT OF OUTREACH, A LOT OF INTENSE OUTREACH TO DO THAT.
I THINK THE CONCERN WOULD ALSO BE FOR SOME OF OUR, UH, COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A LOT OF, OF, OF DIGITAL, OF, OF DIGITAL MEDIA AND ACCESS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE, THEY HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO OPT IN AND THAT WE DON'T, UM, LEAVE THOSE CUSTOMERS BEHIND.
BUT I'M GONNA ASK RUDY TO, TO JUST TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON, ON THE IMPACT TO C P SS, BOTH FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE STANDPOINT AND THEN FROM A CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
COUNCILWOMAN, UH, RUDY GARZA, PRESIDENT AND C E O OF C P SS ENERGY.
I, I, I WOULD SAY THIS ABOUT, UM, THE OPT-IN IDEA AND, AND I UNDERSTAND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE DRIVING KIND OF CONVERSATION BEHIND THE SCENES ON THIS, UM, FOR US, YOU'RE, YOU'RE BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, ASKING 900,000, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMERS TO CALL YOU TO GO ONLINE TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE YOU THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR PREFERENCE, I GUESS, FOR GETTING ONE OR NOT GETTING ONE, AND THEN MANUALLY GOING IN AND APPLYING ONE TO EACH ACCOUNT.
THAT IS A HUGELY MANUAL PROCESS.
UH, I WOULD CONTEND THAT IS A HUGELY REGRESSIVE APPROACH BECAUSE HERE'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
AND, AND, AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS 'CAUSE WE, WE DEAL WITH IT EVERY DAY.
WE HAVE FUNDING AVAILABLE TO HELP CUSTOMERS WITH THEIR BILL THAT WILL NOT REACH OUT TO US TO, TO, TO ASK FOR IT.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING BLOCK WALKING AND DOING ALL THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN, IN, UM, IN, IN THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE.
SO WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IS YOU'RE GONNA HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE, WHO ARE, WHO ARE GENERALLY PROACTIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT WILL CALL AND SEE, I WANT MY 30 BUCKS, AND THE FOLKS WHO NEED IT THE MOST LIKELY ARE NOT GONNA REACH OUT TO US.
SO I FEAR THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A, A A, AN ISSUE WHERE THOSE WHO NEED IT THE MOST, JUST WHO, WHO DON'T CALL US FOR ANY REASON, WILL NOT ASK FOR IT.
AND SO, UM, SO FOR US, WE GOTTA, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A SIGNIFICANT UPLIFT AS IT IS TO PROGRAM OUR BILLING CYCLE FOR, YOU KNOW, THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, PROBABLY TO MID-DECEMBER IS WHEN WE WOULD, WE WOULD START THIS PROCESS IF YOU DO A BILL CREDIT AND, AND APPLY IT, YOU KNOW, UH, AUTOMATICALLY THROUGH OUR BILLING SYSTEM, THAT FOR US, THAT IS THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO GO ABOUT DOING IT AND THEN DEAL WITH THOSE WHO DON'T WANT IT ON AN EXCEPTION BASIS.
RIGHT? SO THAT NUMBER, THE REASON THAT, THAT, THAT'S THE PROPOSAL IS 'CAUSE I KNOW THE NU THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO ACTUALLY CALL IN TO ASK US TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, IT'S GONNA BE A SMALL NUMBER.
THAT'S A FAIR POINT THAT PEOPLE, UM, THAT MAYBE NEED IT THE MOST, WOULDN'T, WOULDN'T, UM, HAVE ACCESS OR WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO OPT IN.
BUT I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED ABOUT WHY THE MECHANISM CHANGES IF YOU OPT IN OR YOU OPT OUT.
WHY ISN'T IT NOT AUTOMATIC IF YOU OPT IN? BECAUSE WE'RE GOING IN AND YOU GOT A ENERGY ADVISOR ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE WHO'S TAKING A CALL SAYING, YEAH, I WANT MY OPT-IN AND, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND DOING A TRANSACTIONAL BASED DEAL VERSUS THAT FOR THAT BILLING CYCLE, WE CAN ACTUALLY PROGRAM OUR BILLING SYSTEM TO ISSUE WHATEVER CREDIT ACROSS THE BOARD BASED ON, YOU KNOW, A A, A FORMULAIC PROCESS.
EVERYBODY GETS WHAT THEY GET AND THEN THEY CALL US AND TELL US THEY DON'T WANT IT.
THAT I, IT'S JUST THE, THE MANPOWER THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE TO DO, TO POTENTIALLY DO 900,000 OF THAT.
I, I JUST, IT'S GONNA BE REAL DIFFICULT.
I UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MANUAL, LIKE HOW MUCH IT WOULD TAKE FOR THAT AND THEN AN AUTOMATED, BUT I, I'M, AND WE CAN TAKE IT OFFLINE 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME.
BUT I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU CAN'T AUTOMATE THE OPT-IN THE WAY YOU CAN AUTOMATE THE OPT-OUT.
BUT LET'S, LET'S, LET ME KEEP GOING AND IF WE HAVE TIME AT THE, BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE AN ELECTION, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE.
BUT EITHER WAY, THEY HAVE TO MAKE AN ELECTION, NO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO MAKE AN ELECTION WHEN, WHEN COUNCIL ISSUES A POLICY, BUT IT POLICY THAT SAYS EVERYBODY IS GONNA GET THEIR CREDIT BASED ON JULY.
UM, YOU KNOW, USAGE AT THIS RATE AT WHATEVER THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU WANNA PUT INTO THAT IS WE'VE, WE PROGRAM INTO THAT, INTO OUR BILLING SYSTEM AND EVERYBODY GETS IT.
I THINK WE HAVE TO TAKE IT OFFLINE.
YEAH, BECAUSE I'M, I'M GONNA ELECT IF, IF, IF THIS, IF THIS WERE THE SCENARIO I ELECT TO, UH, GIVE MY 30 BUCKS TO WEATHERIZATION.
I'M MAKING AN ELECTION, I'M NOT GETTING IT, SO WE'LL TAKE IT OFFLINE.
WELL, I'M JUST SAYING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR CONVERSATION'S SAKE, THAT'S, LET'S SAY THAT'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE VERSUS 900,000 PEOPLE STILL A LIFT, BUT IT'S A SMALLER LIFT, YOU KNOW, RESOURCE WISE FOR US.
UM, THIS BRINGS OTHER ISSUES TO THE TABLE.
UM, I DON'T REALLY UNDER TOTALLY UNDERSTAND HOW WE WOULD PROVIDE THE OPTION.
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UM, I THINK IT'S A LARGER POLICY CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW TO BEST HANDLE FUTURE UNPREDICTABLE, FLUCTUATE FLUCTUATIONS IN C P S ENERGY REVENUES.UM, AND THE FIRST ISSUE IS LOGISTICAL, WHICH IS I'M NOT TOTALLY GETTING, UM, THE SECOND CONSIDERATION ENTAILS A DEEPER CONVERSATION, WHICH I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE.
BUT THE, THE DISCUSSION I THINK HAS PRESENTED US WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO FIND WAYS TO BE RESILIENT, TO PREPARE FOR THE UNPREDICTABLE RHYTHMS OF NATURE, UM, THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD TO DEAL WITH SO MUCH, AT LEAST IN MY LIFETIME IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE, UM, TO DO ALL WE CAN TO ENSURE THAT ALL, ALL VOICES ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LAST TIME WE WERE SITTING IN THESE CHAIRS, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT GIVING THE RATE PAYER THE, THE OPTION AND, UH, GIVING, LETTING THEM ELECT TO DO WITH WHAT THEY WANT WITH THEIR $30.
AND RIGHT NOW IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THE MOST LOGICAL, UM, AVENUE.
UM, I DO IMPLORE IF THIS HAPPENS THAT PEOPLE SERIOUSLY CONSIDER GIVING THEIR 30 BUCKS TO WEATHERIZATION.
UM, I I DO HAVE A QUESTION, UM, ABOUT, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE SLIDE, BUT IT WAS GONNA GO TO REAP OR WEATHERIZATION, THAT'S THE PROPOSAL.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT, THAT WAS A CLARIFICATION THAT WE ADDED BASED ON SOME OF THE COMMENTS.
IN PREVIOUS CONVERSATION, I WOULD PREFER THAT IT JUST GOES STRAIGHT TO WEATHERIZATION.
IF THIS IS WHAT, IF THIS IS THE OPTION WE GO WITH, UM, WE'RE ALREADY ALLOCATING MONEY TO REAP, AND WE ALREADY AS, AS RATE PAYERS HAVE THE OPTION TO GIVE MONEY TO REAP I AND I WANNA MAXIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF WEATHERIZATION IF, IF WE CAN.
UM, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION,
UH, WE, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT AS PRIME GOV.
UH, WE'VE HAD, UM, AN INDIVIDUAL THAT WOULD HANDLE PREVIOUS TO PRIME GOV, HANDLE ALL THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH APPROPRIATE POSTINGS.
UH, THE MEMORANDUM ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, UM, AND THAT WAS A FULL-TIME JOB AS WE WERE ADDING MORE INTO PRIME GOV, THAT WAS BECAME, UH, SORT OF A ONE PERSON DOING TWO JOBS.
UH, MONITORING THAT, THAT, THAT DATABASE AND DOING ALL THE COMPLIANCE WORK.
SO THAT'S WHY WE CREATED THE OTHER POSITION.
SO THAT ONE WOULD BE FOCUSED ON DATABASE MANAGEMENT AND THE OTHER FOCUSED ON COMPLIANCE.
SO I SORT OF TOOK THE, TOOK THE, THE, UH, TITLE, LITERALLY THERE WAS SOME KIND OF SUPPORT FOR COUNCIL.
UM, BUT I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND TECHNICALLY MAYBE
BUT, UM, I WAS GONNA QUESTION WHY, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE ADDING ANOTHER POSITION WHEN WE'VE HAD REQUESTS TO ADD POSITIONS TO YOUR, SPECIFICALLY TO YOUR OFFICE, UM, TO HELP WITH DIFFERENT, UM, KIND OF PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES.
BUT, UM, I, I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR POSITION, BUT WE CAN TAKE THAT OFFLINE AS WELL.
I MEAN, ACTUALLY IT SOUNDS REALLY COOL TO HAVE A COUNCIL ACTION SUPPORT PERSON IN THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UM, THAT WOULD BE MORE ACTIVELY SUPPORTING COUNCIL JUST THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S PRESENTATION TODAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER KIO HDA, COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO.
WHEN WINTER STORM YURI CAME TWO YEARS AGO, TWO WINTERS AGO, WE WEREN'T PREPARED.
THE STATE WASN'T PREPARED, OUR CITY WASN'T PREPARED, OUR UTILITY WASN'T PREPARED, AND WE GOT STUCK WITH EXORBITANT BILLS CLOSE TO A BILLION DOLLARS.
AND OUR RATE PAYERS, OUR C P S CUSTOMERS, OUR CITIZENS ARE GONNA BE PAYING THAT OFF FOR 25 YEARS.
THIS LAST SUMMER, WE WEREN'T PREPARED, OUR STATE WASN'T PREPARED, OUR CITY WASN'T PREPARED.
THE STATE, THE ERCOT BROKE THEIR DEMAND RECORD 11 TIMES.
THEY WERE BEGGING US TO CUT BACK ON OUR USE OF POWER BEGGING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND WE'RE NOT READY.
AND PEOPLE'S BILLS, PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING ECONOMICALLY.
IN JUNE, THE, THE AVERAGE C P S ENERGY BILL WAS UP OVER 50% FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND WE NEED TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING WITH THESE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES.
AND THE MEDIAN REBATE AMOUNT FOR THIS, FOR, UH, A C P SS ENERGY CUSTOMER IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS $26.
THAT MEANS HALF OF THE C P S ENERGY CUSTOMERS IN SAN ANTONIO WILL GET LESS THAN $26.
AND THEY ASK ME, WHY ARE YOU GONNA GIVE $12 MILLION OF OUR MONEY TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO? BECAUSE $26 PEOPLE CAN APPRECIATE THAT RIGHT NOW WHEN THEY HAVE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES.
[00:30:01]
THEY ASK, WELL, WHY WOULD YOU TAKE OUR MONEY THAT WOULD BE INVESTED IN OUR COMMUNITY IN WAYS THAT COULD WEATHERIZE HOMES HERE? THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SAYS, IF YOU WEATHERIZE SOMEBODY'S HOME, YOU'LL SAVE 'EM OVER $370 A YEAR, YEAR AFTER A YEAR.SO WHY WOULD WE TAKE $12 MILLION OF OUR PEOPLE'S MONEY AND GIVE IT TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO? AND THEY, YOU KNOW, MY, MY CONSTITUENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT.
MY CONSTITUENTS IN DISTRICT ONE, THE MEDIAN, THE MEDIAN REBATE FOR THEM WILL BE $22.
SO HALF OF THEM ARE GONNA GET LESS THAN $22.
THEY'D LIKE TO SEE THEIR NEIGHBORS GET THEIR HOMES WEATHERIZED.
AND WE HAVEN'T LEARNED OUR LESSONS.
I MEAN, THIS IS TIME TO PIVOT AFTER WINTER STORM URI AFTER THIS BRUTAL SUMMER, WE CAN'T DO A BUSINESS AS USUAL.
WE CAN'T PASS A BUSINESS AS USUAL BUDGET, YOU KNOW, UM, IN OUR BUDGET, WE HAVE $1 MILLION FOR RESILIENCY CENTERS, $1 MILLION, THAT'S IT.
RIGHT? AND THAT CAN CONVERT FOUR PLACES IN THE CITY TO, TO HOUSE A COUPLE OF HUNDRED PEOPLE AND HAVE SOME BACKUP ENERGY GENERATORS.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GET HIT HARD AGAIN? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE GRID GOES DOWN? AND WE'RE GONNA SAY, IN A CITY OF 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE, WE HAVE PLACES FOR A COUPLE OF A COUPLE HUNDRED PEOPLE TO GO WITH A DIESEL BACKUP GENERATOR OR A NATURAL GAS BACKUP GENERATOR.
MOST OF 'EM ARE GONNA HAVE NATURAL GAS, RIGHT? WHAT HAPPENS IF WE CAN'T GET THE, THE, AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE FUEL ON SITE? SO WHAT HAPPENS IF THE GAS ISN'T BEING DISTRIBUTED? THEN WHAT? I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE COULD CONSIDER A BUSINESS AS USUAL BUDGET AND NOT PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY GOING FORWARD.
AND, YOU KNOW, AFTER WE HAVE THE NEXT BRUTAL SUMMER OR THE NEXT TOUGH WINTER, I'M NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO LOOK MY CONSTITUENTS IN THE EYES AND SAY, WELL, I GAVE YOU 26 BUCKS BACK, BUT SORRY, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO REALLY PROTECT YOU AGAINST THESE FUTURE BILLS AND PROTECT YOU AGAINST THESE FUTURE, UH, CHALLENGES WHERE WE CAN'T KEEP THE, THE GRID STABLE.
GIVING PEOPLE MONEY BACK TODAY DOES NOTHING TO PREVENT THOSE ROLLING BLACKOUTS IN THE FUTURE.
AND OUR STATE HAS NOT PROVIDED THE REFORMS THAT WE NEED TO DO THAT.
I POSITION, UH, I UNDERSTAND GIVING PEOPLE SOME MONEY BACK.
RIGHT NOW, I DO, UH, ON FACE VALUE.
I UNDERSTAND THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION TO DO THIS.
UM, BUT OUR JOB, THE, THE CITY MANAGER'S JOB IS TO HOLD THE SHIP STEADY.
OUR JOB AS POLICY MAKERS IS TO LOOK AND SEE HOW HAS OUR SITUATION CHANGED AND HOW DO WE NEED TO PIVOT AND PROVIDE THAT POLICY DIRECTION TO LOOK OUT FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
UM, COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, I PLAN TO ASK QUESTIONS FOR JUSTINA FIRST, AND THEN I WANNA GO THROUGH MY AMENDMENTS AND THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT C P S A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN MY SECOND ROUND, I HOPE TO HEAR Y'ALL'S AMENDMENTS, AND HOPEFULLY I'LL BE ECHOING SOME SUPPORT FOR THOSE.
UM, MY QUESTION, MY FIRST QUESTION IS GONNA BE ABOUT THE DI OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
IS THE, UM, DIRECTOR POSITION STILL VACANT, OR HAS IT BEEN FILLED? OH, OKAY.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL AND MAYOR ELIZABETH PROVENCIO, FIRST ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION DEPARTMENT, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER.
AND HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF HIRING A DIRECTOR TO, TO LEAD THAT DEPARTMENT.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, THEY'VE BEEN DOING EXCEPTIONAL WORK.
UM, DOO DOO, IS THERE A, UM, IS THERE AVAILABILITY FOR A PART? SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN DISTRICT TWO VERY RECENTLY ARE THE THREE BUSINESSES THAT WERE TARGETED.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON? UH, SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, IN ORDER TO MAKE, UH, OUR CITY TRULY ACCESSIBLE AND ALSO TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN, HAPPEN AGAIN.
SO, IS THERE AVAILABILITY OR OPPORTUNITY FOR A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN, UM, D E I AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO ASSIST SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WITH FUNDS TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE? AND MAYBE IF THEY ALREADY, IF THEY'RE AWARE NOW THAT THIS IS GOING ON, I THINK MORE FOLK ARE HYPER AWARE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY'RE NOT ACCESSIBLE.
IF THEY REACH OUT TO THE CITY, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN, MAYBE NOT
[00:35:01]
THIS YEAR, BUT NEXT YEAR, PROVIDE SOME SUPPORT? COUNCILMAN, AS YOU KNOW, FROM THE WORK THAT WE DID WITH YOUR OFFICE AND THROUGH YOUR OFFICE, WE DID PROVIDE THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THOSE BUSINESSES.AND AS FOR THE FUNDS, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT IS UP TO, UM, A DISCUSSION WITH E D D ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE POTENTIALS COULD LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.
I NOTICED THIS YEAR I'M TALKING A LOT ABOUT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, THE NEXT BIT IS, DO WE HAVE A LIST OF, UM, AND I MEAN, I GUESS WE DON'T HAVE A LIST OF ALL THE LANGUAGES THAT ARE SPOKEN IN, UH, IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT DO WE HAVE A LIST OF LIKE, MAYBE THE POPULATION THAT USES EACH PARTICULAR LANGUAGE? AND FOR EXAMPLE, DISTRICT TWO HAS A LARGE KOREAN POPULATION, WHICH WOULD BENEFIT FROM KOREAN TRANSLATION IN SOME INSTANCES, OTHER DISTRICTS MIGHT NEED VIETNAMESE, ARABIC OR OTHER.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OF THAT DATA? WE HAVE EXCITING, UM, REPORTS THAT ARE ABOUT TO COME OUT IN, UM, BOTH SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, WE WILL GET A FIRST TRANCHE OF DATA RELATED TO, UM, WHAT WE KNOW FROM THE AMERICAN, UM, CITY SURVEY AND AS WELL AS CENSUS DATA UPDATED WITH REGARD TO THE LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN THE CITY.
UM, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL DATA THAT IT WILL BE COMING IN AS A RESULT OF SURVEYS THROUGH SCHOOLS, THE COURT, UM, AND ONE OTHER COMPONENT.
AND SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE WILL HAVE UPDATED DATA THIS FALL.
AND SO THAT'S EXCITING NEWS FOR US AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN AND BEGIN TO, TO WORK ON THE NEXT PHASE OF IT.
UM, AND THIS IS THE LAST QUESTION ON THE, THIS PART OF THE BUDGET.
AND IT'S NOT D E I, IT'S, UM, DOES CITY CLERK STILL WORK WITH THE ID RECOVERY TEAM TO ASSIST OUR, UH, HOUSE OUTREACH, UH, COORDINATORS? AND HOW MIGHT WE CONSIDER, UM, OR ENSURE THAT MORE RESOURCE ARE DIRECTED TO THAT PROGRAM ID RECOVERY? PLEASE DIRECT THAT BACK.
UM, THAT IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN OUR DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT THAT WORKS WITH HEAVEN FOR HOPE.
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE WAS INVOLVED AS WE WERE HOUSING SOME OF THE POLICE OFFICERS AND THEIR FACILITIES.
SO, UM, SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS AT THIS POINT TO EXPAND THAT, THAT PROGRAM BEYOND THE RESOURCES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
THE ONE THING THAT WE ARE GONNA, DEBBIE, YOU MIGHT WANNA JUMP IN.
WE ARE GONNA WORK, DEBBIE'S BEEN WORKING WITH MUNICIPAL COURTS TO MOVE THAT FUNCTION OVER TO MUNICIPAL COURTS.
WE'RE A LITTLE BIT MORE EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE, THE POPULATION THAT NEEDS THAT HELP.
THAT ALSO FREES UP, UH, SPACE AT CITY CLERK AT RECORDS FOR DEBBIE TO MAKE SOME CUSTOMER IMPROVEMENTS THERE IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING.
UM, THE NEXT BIT IS GONNA BE AMENDMENTS.
IF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES MIGHT LISTEN AND SEE IF THEY COULD SUPPORT ANY OF THESE, I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
UM, SO WE HEARD LAST WEEK THE REQUEST FROM THE M L K COMMISSION, UM, TO INCREASE THEIR BUDGET FROM A HUNDRED THOUSAND TO 300,000.
UM, WE DO PLAN TO WORK EXTENSIVELY ON FUNDRAISING, BUT THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT THAT WE PROVIDE FROM THE CITY, UM, I THINK IS GONNA BE CRITICAL.
UM, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ASKS IS TO SECURE A HIGH PROFILE SPEAKER.
THE, THE PROFILE OF SPEAKER THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, MY RANGE MIGHT BE $200,000, MIGHT BE SOMEWHERE IN THAT RANGE.
SO THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD ABSORB QUITE A BIT.
UM, BUT IDEALLY THIS WOULD BE AN INCREASE THAT WE SEE HAPPEN EVERY YEAR FROM THIS POINT FORWARD.
COUNCILMAN? YES? UM, WE HAVEN'T BROUGHT UP THE AMENDMENTS YET.
WE'RE GONNA, OH, WE GONNA DO A SECOND? SECOND.
SO IF YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE YOUR TIME ON THIS NOW, IF YOU WANNA WAIT ON THAT AND THEN WE CAN FOLLOW UP EVEN BETTER.
UM, SO I'VE BEEN PRETTY CLEAR FROM THE GET GO.
I'M NOT GOING TO, I'M NOT SUPPORTIVE OF A REBATE WITH AN OPT OUT.
UM, DID FLOAT AROUND THE IDEA FOR AN OPT-IN.
AND WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE EFFORT TO DO AN OPT-IN.
AND THE SAME ARGUMENT THAT WE WOULD HAVE FOR OPTING OUT, WE COULD MAKE OF OPTING IN IS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT, UM, I'LL ASK, I'LL ASK THIS.
COULD THE OPTION NOT BE PRINTED ON A BILL AND FOLK CAN CALL AND, AND REQUEST TO OPT-IN? IS THAT A POSSIBILITY? WE WOULD USE ALL, I MEAN, IF WE WENT DOWN AN OPT-IN APPROACH, WE WOULD USE ALL THE SAME CHANNELS THAT WE USE TO GET PEOPLE, UH, TO CONNECT WITH US FOR ARPA DOLLARS AND REAP AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY DO ON A PROACTIVE BASIS.
UM, NOT EVERYBODY IS, UH, IS THE POPULATION OF FOLKS YOU'RE TYPICALLY TRYING TO GET TO CALL YOU AS A SMALLER POPULATION.
THIS IS ALL 900,000 PEOPLE, UH, UH, CUSTOMERS IN OUR ORGANIZATION.
THE SAME PEOPLE WHO TAKE CALLS WHEN THERE'S AN OUTAGE WHO TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO ASSISTANCE WHO ARE DEALING WITH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE BACK TO DISCONNECTS
[00:40:01]
AND CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING DISCONNECTED AGAIN.AND THEY DEAL, THEY, THEY DEAL WITH THAT NOW ARE GONNA BE ASKED TO TAKE ON, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO CONNECT WITH 900,000 CUSTOMERS TO ASK 'EM WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT THEIR CREDIT OR NOT.
UH, THE, THE CAPACITY WE HAVE TO DO THIS IS, IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT, IT'S NOT REALISTIC FOR US.
IT'S, IT'S GOING TO, IT'S, I THINK THE, IF WE WENT WITH AN OPT-IN PROGRAM PROCESS WITH ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW AS WELL, UM, THAT, THAT ARE ACTUALLY GETTING, YOU KNOW, MORE SIGNIFICANT, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, ASSISTANCE TO CUSTOMERS THAT, THAT REALLY NEED IT.
I MEAN, WE MAY BE TALKING ABOUT A MULTI-MONTH PROCESS TO TRY TO GET THIS MONEY PROGRAMMED, UM, YOU KNOW, AS PEOPLE, AS WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO IT.
UH, THE OPT-IN, UH, PROCESS IS NOT, UH, THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO DO IT.
AND, AND I'M NOT EVEN SURE WE'VE GOT THE PEOPLE, THE MANPOWER TO ACTUALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN, SIR.
AND THAT'S IF YOU'RE CALLING EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER AND ASKING THEM TO OPT IN.
YEAH, THAT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO, SIR.
WELL, WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IS THAT, UM, THAT CUSTOMER, THE, THE, THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET CUSTOMERS TO MAKE A SELECTION IS YOU HAVE TO BE IN FRONT OF THEM
SO, YOU KNOW, I WORRY THAT THE FOLKS THAT, UM, WILL BE MOST IMPACTED BY THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO CONNECT WITH US OR THOSE WHO, YOU KNOW, AT THE LOWER INCOME LEVEL, SPANISH SPEAKERS, FOLKS WHO TYPICALLY SHY AWAY FROM CONNECTING WITH US.
AND, AND I, THAT'S JUST BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE, SIR.
SO YOU JUST TOLD ME WAS THAT IN ORDER TO GET PEOPLE TO MAKE AN OPTION AND TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT, THEY, IT WILL TAKE SO MUCH EFFORT.
SO US SAYING THAT, OH, IF PEOPLE WANNA OPT OUT AND THEY WANT TO PUT MONEY INTO THE WEATHERIZATION, IT IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF EFFORT.
SO THAT'S NOT THE COMPROMISE THAT WE THINK IT IS.
AND SO I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, I'M SAYING THIS OUT LOUD AS TO, FOR THE REASON WHY I AM NOT SUPPORTING, UM, OPTING OUT RIGHT NOW.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT IF YOU WANT TO RE, SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT WE CAN WORK AROUND THAT, RIGHT? SO IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD, UM, AUTOMATICALLY APPLY THE CREDIT BECAUSE IT'S A CREDIT, IT'S NOT MONEY BACK, YOU'RE NOT GETTING A PAYMENT.
IT'S GOING TO BE A MARKDOWN OFF YOUR BILL.
YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT MONEY.
IT'S GONNA BE A CREDIT OFF OF YOUR BILL.
YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT MONEY.
COULD WE AUTOMATICALLY APPLY THAT TO PEOPLE WITH PAST DUE BALANCES? WILL THAT THEN LIMIT, WILL THAT THEN SHORTEN THE LIST OF PEOPLE WHO, UM, WHO MIGHT, WHO WE MIGHT HAVE TO SPECIFICALLY TARGET OUT AFTER THAT POINT? ERIC DID.
DID YOU, YOU LET ME, WHILE, WHILE YOU THINK ABOUT THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, LET ME, LET ME, UH, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S PROBABLY AN UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION THAT, THAT WE HAVE AND CERTAINLY PROBABLY RUDY AND C P SS HAVE.
UM, THE, THE, THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION IS THAT BETWEEN OPT OUT AND OPT-IN, THAT THE MAJORITY OF RATE PAYERS ARE GONNA EXPECT THAT CREDIT, THAT THERE WILL BE A SMALLER PERCENTAGE THAT ARE GONNA WANNA OPT OUT INTO REAP OR WEATHERIZATION OR ONE OR THE OTHERS.
IF YOU FLIP THAT, IF PROGRAM THAT MONEY INTO A PROGRAM LIKE WEATHERIZATION AND SAY OPT IN, IF YOU WANT TO CREDIT, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE BURDEN THEN THAT THE C P SS WILL HAVE BECAUSE THAT WAVE IS GONNA BE A LOT BIGGER.
AND THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT WAVE'S GONNA BE A LOT BIGGER THAN THE OPT OUT.
AND THAT'S WHY THE, THE TWO AREN'T EQUAL IN TERMS OF PROGRAMMING OR EFFORT, THE THE OPT-IN BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA EXPECT THEIR CREDIT AND ARE GONNA BE CALLING C P SS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE UNDERLYING FOUNDATION.
MY LAST SENTENCE IS THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT PEOPLE WILL BE EXPECTING A CREDIT, THEY WOULD NOT BE EXPECTING A CREDIT IF WE HADN'T SAID THIS, IF WE HADN'T STARTED OFF THIS WAY SAYING THAT THEY WERE GOING TO GET A CREDIT THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND WE WERE TOLD, TOLD THAT THIS IS NOT, IF WE ARE TELLING PEOPLE RIGHT NOW AT THIS MEETING THAT THEY HAVE TO OPT INTO THE PROGRAM, THEN THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING RIGHT NOW.
SO THIS IS VERY, IT'S INCONSISTENT.
ALRIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA.
AND, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I'LL START WITH, WITH THE DEPARTMENTS AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, THE UPDATES, JUSTINA, THAT WAS REALLY EFFICIENT, LIKE 22 DEPARTMENTS AND, UM, JUST LIKE FIVE MINUTES.
SO CONGRATULATIONS, YOU
UM, I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT THAT YOU ALL ARE GIVING THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AS WELL AS THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
I THINK THEY DO A LOT OF THE BACKGROUND WORK.
UM, AND, AND WE DON'T EVEN SEE WHAT THAT MEANS, RIGHT? SO, UH, SOME OF THE, THE BACKEND WORK, WE JUST SEE THESE BEAUTIFUL AGENDAS PRINTED AND WE HAVE NO IDEA THAT SOMEBODY HAS TO GO IN AND, AND TYPE THIS ALL UP AND CHECK BOXES.
AND SO, SO THANK YOU TO CITY STAFF FOR DOING ALL OF THAT.
AND I DO THINK THEY ALWAYS NEED MORE SUPPORT THERE.
I ALSO APPRECIATE THE GRANTS WRITING SERVICE, UH, WITH, UH, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS BECAUSE I THINK THAT
[00:45:01]
WITH THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW AND OTHER FUNDING COMING, WE, WE, WE MIGHT BE ABLE AND, AND PREPARED.I WANTED TO ASK ON THAT, ARE WE WORKING DIRECTLY? I'D ASSUME THAT WE ARE, UH, WITH C P SS TO KIND OF PRIORITIZE SOME OF THESE WEATHERIZATION PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AND SPECIFICALLY HOW WE FOCUS ON THE LOW INCOME AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND.
SALLY, GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PLATFORMS, UH, THAT WE DISCUSS, UH, THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE BEEN IDENTIFYING IN THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW THROUGH THE ROUND ROUNDTABLE WITH OUR, UH, PARTNERS AS WELL AS THE I G R ROUNDTABLE.
AND THEN ASIDE FROM THAT, WE HAVE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR COUNTERPARTS, UM, AT C P S, UM, I G R, UH, STAFF.
AND, UM, SALLY, DO WE HAVE A MAP THAT HAS, I KNOW WE HAVE THE MAP SOMEWHERE THAT HAS THE OLDEST HOUSING STOCK IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, DEFINED KIND OF BY AREA.
UH, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
WE DO HAVE THAT, YEAH, THAT MAP.
AND SO I'D LOVE TO SEE KIND OF AN OVERLAP OF THAT MAP WITH THE MAP OF THE C P SS INFORMATION OF THE RESIDENTS THAT HAVE TAKEN A ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT C P S HAS OFFERED IN THE PAST 12 YEARS.
SO I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD CASE FOR US TO USE FOR, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IN THIS.
UM, BUT I WAS JUST, THAT'S AN, I I GUESS I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH WHOEVER YOU WANT ME TO ON THAT.
UH, SALLY, I WAS, I WAS THINKING OF, OF MAKING THE DECISION TODAY, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT AND WHAT IS THE, THE, WHAT IS ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE FOR US, RIGHT? LIKE WHAT ELSE? HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING? SO THANK YOU.
AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION IS FOR BRIAN DILLARD.
UM, AND IT'S FOR INNOVATION, THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
I APPRECIATE THE R AND D LEAGUE.
UM, I I THINK YOU ALL ARE DUE FOR AN UPDATE SOON, RIGHT? ON THE NEXT ROUND OF PROJECTS THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE? UH, YES MA'AM.
SO AS WE GO INTO THE NEW BUDGET SEASON, WE'LL BE COLLECTING THOSE.
WE'VE ALREADY STARTED EXPLORING SEVEN OF THOSE PROJECTS.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS THE INNOVATION ACADEMY ENHANCEMENT THAT YOU ALL HAVE.
UH, WE HAVE A PRO, UH, A TRAINING PROGRAM.
AND SO YOU ALL, I THINK IT'S THE ONE THAT YOU ALL JUST DID A CALL TO ALL OF THE CITY FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS.
UM, I ASKED ONE OF MY STAFFERS TO APPLY.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF COUNCIL OFFICES COULD APPLY.
UM, MY STAFFER RESPONDED WITH WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR A BIG PROJECT TO SOLVE.
UM, I DO THINK THAT THERE'S KIND OF LIKE O O OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, MAYBE TO SPIN OFF OF THE INNOVATION ACADEMY AND MAYBE DO HOW TO BE CREATIVE, CREATIVE THINKING, ET CETERA.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THAT IN MIND, BUT I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT I WAS SUPER EXCITED AND THEN I GOT, I GOT KIND OF SAD, RIGHT? BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, OH WAIT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HAR A HUGE PROJECT FOR THIS.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU AND I CAN TALK ABOUT KELSEY.
I MEAN, WE, WE, I MEAN, THE IDEA IS THAT AS MANY PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR US COLLECTIVELY, OKAY, WE WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT.
BUT MORE THAN HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, UM, FOR YOU ALL THE ESSAY CORE EXPANSION ALSO, UM, I, I LIKE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, AT THAT IT'S UNDER NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT WAS UNDER NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
IT'S UNDER NON-DEPARTMENTAL, UM, THE SA CORPS EXPANSION MAINLY BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, UM,
WE WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AND THEN DISTRIBUTE THAT MONEY BASED ON WHAT, WHAT WHATEVER WE RECOMMEND.
AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION IS ON C C D O.
UH, AND YOU ALL HAVE ENHANCED SECURITY AT LA VITA.
I KNOW THAT IN YEARS PAST, THERE WAS ALSO QUESTIONS ABOUT LIGHTING AT THE ES AND THEATER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF THE LIGHTING, BUT LIKE FOR INSTANCE, WITH THE, THE LOS MUTOS PARADE, THE DSAS PARADES, UM, THE, THE NEW LIGHTS, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF YOU ALL HAVE BUDGETED FOR THAT ALREADY.
WE HAVE MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO THE AV SYSTEM OVER THERE, WHICH INCLUDES SOUNDING SOUND AND LIGHT.
THAT, THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION ON THAT, SO THANK YOU.
AND THEN, UM, I WILL GO ON ALSO TO THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CHARTER AMENDMENT POTENTIAL.
SO WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT POTENTIALLY CHARTER AMENDMENTS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
IT'S JUST, WHAT'S THIS $150,000 FOR THEN FOR THIS IS TO SUPPORT THE EFFORT COUNCILWOMAN, I WOULD IMAGINE, UH, WE WOULD, UH, THE COUNCIL AND MAYOR WOULD CONVENE A, UH, CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION, UH,
[00:50:01]
THAT WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHARTER THAT THEY'RE PROVIDED IN TERMS OF WHAT POSSIBLE CHANGES WE WILL MAKE.SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUPPORT FOR THAT GROUP IN TERMS OF MEETING LOGISTICS, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, MUCH LIKE WE DID WITH REDISTRICTING.
AND THEN I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE FACT THAT ERIC, UH, HAS BEEN, UM, UH, I THINK AS PATIENT AS POSSIBLE WITH US, RIGHT? AS WE NAVIGATE THROUGH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT, THAT WE HAVE, I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS BUSINESS, THIS IS BUSINESS AS USUAL.
UM, THERE'S JUST NO WAY THAT THIS BUDGET IS BUSINESS AS USUAL.
WE ARE IN A VERY, UM, INTERESTING SITUATION ON THIS COUNCIL THAT I THINK THAT A LOT OF OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES HAVE NOT BEEN IN.
AND THAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, GIVE MORE MONEY OUT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO SAY IT, RIGHT? AND SPECIFICALLY THROUGH THE ARPA FUNDING, THROUGH, UM, ALL OF THE, THE GRANTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY, UH, CHANGE THE COURSE OF, OF SAN ANTONIO.
I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN VESTED IN DOING THAT.
I THINK THAT ALSO, UM, CLEARLY THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY, THEY WANT A REBATE AND I'LL BE ON, ON IN SUPPORT OF THE REBATE TODAY.
THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT APPRECIATE 26, 29, 30 $2, WHATEVER IT IS, IS GOING TO HELP THEM.
AND, UM, I, I DON'T THINK THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK AT MY RESIDENTS IN THE EYE IF I, AND, AND TELL THEM THAT I WENT AGAINST THEIR WISHES.
AND SO I, I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, THERE WAS A POLL THAT WAS SENT OUT CITYWIDE THROUGH NEXT DOOR.
AND EVEN THOUGH MY RESIDENTS DON'T TRADITIONALLY PARTICIPATE IN POLLS, WE HAD 156, UH, UH, SAYING THAT THEY SUPPORTED A C P S REBATE AND COMPARE IT IN COMPARISON TO 49 AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, I WAS LOOKING AT THAT AND IN GENERAL, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, IT WAS 70 30, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, AT ONE TIME, PARTIAL C P SS ENERGY BILL REBATE OR CREDIT WAS 70%, UM, TO 30%.
AND SO AGAIN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN I HAVE TO MAKE A HARD DECISION, I GO BACK AND I TALK TO THE RESIDENTS.
YESTERDAY, I WAS AT A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING WHEN I BROUGHT THIS UP, UM, TO MY RESIDENTS, AND I TOLD THEM HOW I WAS GONNA VOTE.
THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTIONS.
USUALLY WHEN I TELL THEM HOW I'M GONNA VOTE ABOUT SOMETHING, THEY QUESTION OR THEY ASK OR THEY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND YESTERDAY, NOBODY IN THERE WAS, UM, WAS AGAINST ME VOTING IN, IN, IN SUPPORT OF THE REBATE.
I DO HAVE, UM, HAVE A, A, A CONCERN IN THAT WE DO HAVE TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE AND THINK ABOUT WEATHERIZATION, ET CETERA.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THE RIGHT THING TO DO RIGHT NOW IS CONTINUE LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVE WAYS AND, AND, UM, JUST TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHAT OUR WHAT OUR RESIDENTS HAVE TOLD US.
AND THANK YOU ALSO TO C P S ENERGY FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH US AS WELL, AND FOR LOOKING AT THE ALTERNATIVES AND BEING ABLE TO, TO LOOK AT THE OPT-IN, OPT OUT.
UM, I, I'M SURE THAT IT'S SOME TECHNOLOGY, UH, BASED THING THAT, YOU KNOW, MIGHT, MIGHT, MIGHT REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL ATTENTION HERE AND THERE.
SO I APPRECIATE THE STUFF THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO DO THAT.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, I, I WANNA, UH, JUST REINSTATE THAT MY RESIDENTS WILL TAKE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY CAN AND THEY HAVE CLEARLY SPOKEN AND THEY WANT THE REBATE.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'LL BE VOTING FOR OR I'LL BE IN FAVOR OF ON THURSDAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROJA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GRO.
UH, I'LL JUST GO OVER THE, ALL, ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, RATHER QUICKLY.
THANK YOU JUSTINA, FOR THAT VERY SUCCINCT PRESENTATION.
UM, IN THE, THE, UM, CITY SUPPORT IMPROVEMENTS.
I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET, UH, WHAT WE NEED DONE WITH, UH, OUR CONSULTANTS FOR THE 88TH LEGISLATION.
I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING, TO SAY THE LEAST.
I, I LIKE TO, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT, UH, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME.
AND THE, THE TREND OF, OF HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS AND HOW IT CAN IMPROVE AN ORGANIZATION IS, IS WHY WE NEED SOMEONE AT THE LEADERSHIP.
I'M IN SUPPORT OF THE, UM, FUNDS FOR INNOVATION.
BUT I THINK, UH, BRIAN, YOU AND I NEED TO HAVE A VERY LONG CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS, THIS, UH, THIS DIGITAL, UM, DIGITAL INCLUSION AND WHAT WE HAVE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
AND THEN ON THE COMMUNITY SERVICES WORLD HERITAGE, I JUST HAVE TO GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT.
TWO POSITIONS ARE GREATLY NEEDED.
THANK YOU TO ALL MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES THAT CAME OUT TO THE EVENTS TO CELEBRATE WORLD HERITAGE FESTIVAL.
THIS ISN'T JUST A DISTRICT SPECIFIC, THIS IS A CITYWIDE, ACTUALLY STATEWIDE TREASURE BECAUSE OF THE UNESCO DESIGNATION.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
UH, AND VISION ZERO, I HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO YOU.
UM, HOW I WISH, UH, I COULD, I COULD
[00:55:01]
HAVE SOMETHING IN MY DISTRICT, BUT UM, WHEN WE HAD THE CONVERSATION AND Y'ALL WERE LIKE, WELL, WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID T HIGHWAYS, ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM WERE LIKE, OH, YEAH, YEAH, WE GET THAT.SO, BUT, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES THAT, THAT ARE GONNA SEE THESE CORRIDORS COME UP.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO HELP TREMENDOUSLY WITH OUR TRAFFIC FLOW.
UM, THE CREDIT PROPOSAL, I THINK MY, UM, I, UM, UH, MY OPINION HAS BEEN PRETTY MUCH CLEAR.
I'VE, I'VE TRIED TO SEE IF THERE THERE WERE ALTERNATIVES THAT WE COULD DO.
MY QUESTION IS, WHERE IS THIS MONEY CURRENTLY AT WITH C P S OR WITH THE CITY IN CITY ACCOUNTS OR C P S ACCOUNTS? SOME OF IT, MOST OF IT IS IN, IS IN THE CITY'S HANDS.
THE REST WE EXPECT IN THE SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER PAYMENTS, UM, FROM C P S, FROM CUSTOMERS.
SO WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED IS YOU CAME, CITI CAME WITH A RECOMMENDATION OF OVER 900,000 CUSTOMERS AND SAID, LET'S DO A CREDIT WITHIN A MONTH, MAYBE TWO OF 900,000 CUSTOMERS.
AND QUESTIONS WERE ASKED ABOUT WHERE THESE ZIP CODES ARE, WHO IS GETTING WHAT? SOME BUSINESSES ARE GETTING OVER $20,000 IN, IN, IN A, IN CREDIT.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.
AND THANK YOU, UM, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO FOR PROVIDING THE MAP ON DISCONNECTIONS BECAUSE WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS A MAP ON WHO'S GETTING THE MOST MONEY.
BECAUSE WHEN 19 MILLION ARE GOING TO BUSINESSES, THIS IS STARTING TO FEEL NOT TRANSPARENT.
IT'S, IT'S FEELING LIKE WE ARE, WE ARE HANDING OUT A MIRROR.
AND, AND THE THING IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY RESIDENTS ARE GETTING, MAYBE 32, MAYBE 61.
I'VE SEEN SO MANY PERCENTAGES AND YOU'RE ASKING ME TO SIGN OFF ON THIS NOT KNOWING WHAT THEY'RE GETTING, TELLING ME THAT YOU CAN DO AN OPT OUT, BUT YOU CAN'T DO AN OPT-IN BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE GONNA WANT AN OPT-IN.
IT JUST, THIS DOESN'T FEEL LIKE WHAT WE AS A CITY PUT FORWARD IN TERMS OF, IN TERMS OF IN INCLUSION AND HELPING THOSE THAT WERE THE MOST VULNERABLE.
UM, I HAVE LOOKED AT OTHER PROPOSALS.
I, I WANTED, WE GAVE THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO TAX RELIEF IN OUR CITY TAXES.
I DON'T, WE ARE GONNA BE GIVING MONEY BACK TO RATE PAYERS IN ALAMO HEIGHTS AND WINDCREST AND BALCONES HEIGHTS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY REDUCED ANY SORT OF PROPERTY TAX RATE FOR THEIR PEOPLE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE DOING.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH U T SS A OR TEXAS A AND M ARE GETTING BACK.
THI THIS JUST, THERE'S TOO MANY QUESTION MARKS.
I, I LIKE THE IDEA, BUT I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE SAVED FOR A POLICY CONVERSATION ABOUT WHEN WE GIVE AN ENERGY CREDIT AND WHAT WE CAN DO.
SO WE DON'T GET COMPLAINTS TO THE PUBLIC UTILITY, UH, COMMISSION, BUT WE ARE GONNA GET COMPLAINTS AT THE P U C AND I WANNA AVOID THOSE COMPLAINTS, AND I WANNA FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO GIVE BACK TO THE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO.
THIS WAS AN AGREEMENT WE MADE YEARS AGO IN TERMS OF THE FUNDS WE WOULD GET BECAUSE WE MADE THE INVESTMENT INTO C P S.
AND I THINK AS WELL-INTENTIONED AS WE WANT TO BE, IT GETS, IT'S GETTING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THESE DOLLARS ARE GOING AND 19 MILLION TO BUSINESSES THAT I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY SIT ON THIS MAP.
AND YOU CAN'T TELL ME, I'M, I'M BEING TOLD I CAN'T KNOW WHO THESE ARE.
IT, IT JUST, IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT.
SO I WON'T BE SUPPORTING THIS.
I THINK THERE'S PLENTY OF ALTERNATIVES PUT FORWARD BY A NUMBER OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES ON WHAT TO DO.
UM, WHILE MY RESIDENTS WOULD LIKE THAT $32, I THINK WHEN THEY FI, WHEN THEY FIND OUT, WHEN THEY GET THE MAP OF WHERE THE REBATES WERE GIVEN, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE PLEASED WITH ME.
SO THEY WOULD RATHER SEE IT WITH A C S WITH RES WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, MORE SENIOR PROGRAMMING.
SO I JUST HAVE, I HAVE A REALLY HARD TIME AND I WISH WE COULD HAVE FOUND ANOTHER WAY.
I WISH WE COULD GET, HAVE GIVEN SOLID WASTE FEE REFUND OF $30 OR SOMETHING, BUT I'M BEING TOLD THAT WE CAN'T, SO I WON'T BE SUPPORTING THIS.
AND I JUST, I ENCOURAGE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, THE OTHER, WE SHOULD HAVE PAID OURSELF BACK THE 20 MILLION WE GAVE FOR UTILITIES FROM ARPA FUNDS, BECAUSE THAT WAS 20 MILLION WE COULD, WE COULD USE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
I MEAN, WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK LONG-TERM.
[01:00:01]
THE PANDEMIC AND TO GIVE IT BACK AND NOT KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING, JUST DOESN'T, DOESN'T FEEL GOOD.THANK YOU JUSTINE AND BEN FOR THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, I WANNA FIRST, UH, TOUCH ON, UH, THE C P S SURPLUS.
AND I WANNA EMPHASIZE AND REITERATE THAT THE TIME TO KEEP 26 $30 IN THE HANDS OF OUR RESIDENTS WAS BY OPPOSING A RATE INCREASE.
AND WE WOULD'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP 26 TO $30 IN THE POCKETS MONTHLY OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE REPRESENT.
AND BY CONTINUING TO PITCH THIS AS GIVING MONEY BACK TO THE RATE PAYERS IS A COP OUT AND A LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY OF THIS BODY THAT VOTED TO APPROVE A RATE INCREASE ON OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND THAT'S WHY, AND A FEW OF MY COLLEAGUES VOTED NO.
AND THAT WAS THE TIME TO GIVE OUR FAMILIES MUCH NEEDED RELIEF.
AS WE KNOW, WE'RE SEEING, UM, MUCH, UH, COMPOUNDING ISSUES, WHETHER IT'S EVICTIONS, GAS PRICES.
AND I'VE SHARED WITH MY COLLEAGUES A LETTER SUBMITTED BY A DISTRICT FIVE CONSTITUENT EXPRESSING THEIR NEEDS AND THE COMPOUNDING ISSUES OF INFLATION.
AND I WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, THE STATEMENTS THAT THEY MENTIONED HERE WERE RETIRED AND EL ELDERLY ON FIXED INCOMES AS FOLLOWED FOLLOWS.
AND THEY GO ON TO LIST THEIR INCOME AND HOW MUCH THEY'RE RECEIVING A TOTAL 4,100 PER MONTH.
RIGHT? THESE ARE RETIRED INDIVIDUALS WITH A HOUSE PAYMENT, UTILITIES, THE AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE DOCTOR BILLS, MEDICATIONS, GROCERIES.
AND THEY'LL GO ON TO SAY, IN ADDITION, WE HAVE BEEN BARELY MAKING IT BEFORE INFLATION, NO ADJUSTMENTS, UH, WITH OUR SOCIAL SECURITY OR RETIREMENT.
THE RE THE MAIN REASON THAT CAUSED THIS DILEMMA IS THE IMPACT OF COVID, THE PANDEMIC INFLATION.
AND SOON, WE'LL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO PAY ALL OF OUR DEBTS AND OTHER NEEDED EXPENSES.
WE WERE DOING OKAY PAYING EVERYTHING AND SAVING WHAT WE COULD BEFORE ALL OF THIS OCCURRED.
OUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT IS NOW JUST ABOUT TO BE GONE, AND WE FEAR THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO CLOSE IT BECAUSE WE HAVE NOTHING TO PUT IN IT.
THEY GO ON TO WRITE A HELL OF A WAY TO WORK YOUR WHOLE LIFE TO TRY AND SAVE AND DIE WITH NOTHING.
SO THEY GO ON TO EXPLAIN THEIR SITUATION AGAIN, THAT THEY'RE ELDERLY.
HE'S 70, HIS WIFE OF 50 YEARS IS 69 YEARS OLD, AND THEY GO ON AGAIN TO EMPHASIZE THEIR INCOME IN BOLD WITH THE CURRENT INFLATION.
IT MAY BE THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO, UH, WE WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO PAY OUR DEBT OR SEEK MEDICAL CARE, OUR DEBT.
WE ARE ALMOST AT THE POINT WHERE OUR DEBT IS MORE THAN OUR INCOME.
WE DO NOT WANT TO BE, BECOME HOMELESS.
OUR HOME, OUR HOME WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 18 HUNDREDS WHEN THIS AREA WAS A PECAN ORCHID.
IT IS IN NEED OF A LOT OF REPAIR AND INSULATION.
LAST YEAR WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO FREEZE TO DEATH.
OUR INTENTION IS TO SAVE OUR HOME AND LIVE IN PEACE.
UM, THEY GO ON TO, UH, THAT THE HOUSE IS OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, RIGHT? AND THIS IS NOT UNIQUE TO DISTRICT FIVE FAMILIES OR SAN ANTONIO FAMILIES.
I ATTENDED A GRANDPARENTS, RAISING GRANDPARENTS, UM, SYMPOSIUM THIS WEEKEND WHERE I SPOKE TO SOME FAMILIES AND I SPOKE TO THIS VETERAN WHO EXPRESSED THAT, YOU KNOW, HE'S TRYING TO GET HIS DISABILITY, HIS HOME NEEDS INSULATION.
THEY WERE WORRIED LAST WINTER, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THE HOMEOWNER REHAB.
THEY'RE CONCERNED THEY MAY NOT, UH, QUALIFY, UM, BUT THEY KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEED.
I SPOKE TO A GENTLEMAN WHO CAME UP TO OUR TABLE AND SAID, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW, BUT YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES HAVE SO MUCH POWER TO MAKE CHANGE IF Y'ALL WANT TO.
AND HE EXPRESSED AND EXPLAINED THAT HE'S BEEN ON BOTH SIDES, THAT HE'S BEEN HOMELESS, THAT HE'S HAD CITY CONTRACTS, AND HE KNOWS THAT THIS BODY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE PIVOTAL INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITIES IF WE HAVE THE WILL.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THIS C P S REVENUE AND WE'RE, WE'RE COPPING OUT SAYING, OH, WE'RE GONNA GIVE A $30 REBATE BY FAILING TO MENTION TO SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS HOW MUCH BUS BIG BUSINESSES ARE GOING TO RECEIVE IS A SLAP IN THE FACE TO MANY OF OUR WORKING FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THIS CITY.
WHETHER, WHETHER YOU MAKE A HUNDRED THOUSAND A YEAR OR YOU'RE IN POVERTY, IT'S AN INSULT TO ALL OF OUR FAMILIES THAT ARE STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET AND PAY THEIR BILLS DAY TO DAY.
I VALUE THE WORK AND THE RECOMMENDATION OF OUR CITY MANAGER.
HOWEVER, I CANNOT SUPPORT THIS BECAUSE IT IS NOT PRIV PROVIDING THE MUCH NEEDED RELIEF AND SUPPORT THAT OUR FAMILIES VERY MUCH NEED.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IT'S BEING COMMUNICATED TO OUR RESIDENTS HOW THEY'RE RECEIVING SO LITTLE AND BIG BUSINESS AND ALL THESE CORPORATIONS ARE RECEIVING UP TO $1 MILLION IN A REBATE.
THAT PIECE IS BEING LEFT OUT OF THE NARRATIVE.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR CONSTITUENTS NEED TO KNOW.
UM, SO AGAIN, JUST EMPHASIZING THAT I DO BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN SOME OF THE ALTERNATIVE PLANS THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE PUT FORWARD, THAT INCLUDE WEATHERIZATION INVESTING IN OUR FAMILIES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MORE SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE MORE EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS.
AND AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS REBATE PLAN'S NOT IT, IT'S A, UH, IT'S A SLAP IN THE FACE FOR OUR WORKING FAMILIES NO MATTER WHAT, UM, WHERE THEY FALL.
[01:05:01]
UM, BUT I WANTED TO SHIFT OVER TO, UM, DIGITAL INCLUSION.IS BRIAN DILLARD HERE? THANKS BRIAN.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN WORKING AND I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, UM, WITH, UH, WORKING WITH U T S A ON THEIR EPICS PROGRAM, WHICH IS A PROGRAM THAT'S GOING TO, UH, CONNECT U T S A STUDENTS TO PILOT PROJECT COVERING SPECIFIC AREAS.
UM, AND IT'S CONNECTING STUDENTS U T S A TO HOUSING.
UH, MY QUESTION IS, UM, CAN WE CONFIRM IF THERE'S APPROXIMATELY, UH, $50,000, UH, MARKED FOR U T S A TO HELP WITH THIS TO FUND THEIR PROPOSAL? YEAH, SO THAT'S A MEASURE WE ARE EXPLORING.
UH, THE FUNDING IS NOT THERE FROM U T S A SIDE, UNFORTUNATELY.
WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF WE CAN FIND SOME FUNDING FROM THEIR SIDE TO LEVERAGE MM-HMM.
SO WE STILL NEED TO SCOPE THOSE OUT.
AND WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH N H S D AND O H P TO IDENTIFY THE FEASIBILITY OR ANY KIND OF OBSTACLES THAT WOULD CHALLENGE US FROM TAKING ON ANOTHER PROJECT.
AND FOR THE 50 K ON THE CITY SUPPORT THAT U T S A SEEKING, UM, DOES IT LOOK, UH, OPTIMISTIC? LIKE WE WE'RE GOING TO IDENTIFY THE FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE STUDY AND THE STUDENTS OR, SO FROM THEIR END, IT'S, IT'S MAINLY FOR THE STAFF SUPPORT, BUT IT IS NOT FOR SUSTAINING THE TOOL AFTER THE PILOT.
UH, SO WHENEVER WE TAKE SOMETHING ON, WE WANNA IDENTIFY THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THAT AFTER THE PILOT.
I NEVER WANNA PILOT SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW IS NOT GONNA BE FEASIBLE TO SUSTAIN AFTER WE'RE DONE WITH IT.
UM, I WANTED TO SHIFT OVER TO 3 1 1.
UH, I KNOW WHAT WE HEAR FROM MANY OF OUR CONSTITUENTS IS THAT OFTENTIMES THERE'S A DISCONNECT WITH THE CASES THAT ARE CLOSED.
UH, IS THERE OPPORTUNITY WITHIN THE SYSTEM, THE 3 1 1 SYSTEM THAT WHEN A 3 1 1 CASES CLOSED THAT IT CAN LIST WHO CLOSED THE CASE? SO THAT WAY OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM KNOW WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT HOW THE ISSUE WAS ADDRESSED.
UM, AND, AND WOULD THAT NEED FUNDING SUPPORT OR IS THAT JUST SOMETHING WITHIN THE SOFTWARE THAT WE CAN ADD CUR, UM, HI, PAULA STALL, DIRECTOR OF 3 0 1 CUSTOMER SERVICE.
UM, CURRENTLY IN THIS SYSTEM, UM, YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO IN AND YOU CAN SEE WHO CLOSED OUT THE CASE.
UM, SO I CAN GET WITH YOUR TEAM AND MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL SQUARED AWAY ON THAT.
UM, FOR MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS.
UM, I KNOW WHAT WE SEE IN DISTRICT FIVE IN PARTICULAR IS THAT WE HAVE MANY VETERANS WHO ARE SEEKING, UH, RENTAL OR MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE.
AND I WANTED TO ASK IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR US TO FURTHER SUPPORT TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID SPECIFICALLY TO HELP OUR VETERANS WHO ARE AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT OR ARE CURRENTLY FACING THE EVICTION PROCESS.
UM, I KNOW TR HAS A WIDE RANGE OF FOLKS THEY ASSIST WITH, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL AS MILITARY U S A, THAT WE HAVE A SPECIFIC, UH, TEAM WITHIN TRIAL ASSISTING, UH, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CONNECTING OUR VETERANS TO HOUSING RESOURCES.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAVE LOOKED AT AND, OR THAT WE CAN DO SO MAY, UH, TIM OVER FROM MILITARY VETERAN AFFAIRS.
SO KNOW THAT IS, THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE HAVE LOOKED AT MM-HMM.
UM, AND WHETHER WE WOULD ENGAGE WITH BEXAR COUNTY, UH, THE MILITARY VETERAN SERVICE CENTER THERE, OR OTHER VETERAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE, THOSE KINDS OF SERVICES, SOMETHING THAT WE GENERALLY, UH, INVOLVE OURSELVES WITH COUNCILMAN, WE CAN, WE CAN GO TO N A H N H S D MM-HMM.
AND MAKE SURE WE MAKE THAT CONNECTION.
AND THAT, THAT'S PROBABLY IS MORE APPROPRIATE THERE.
THEY'VE GOT THOSE CONTRACTS WITH THE LEGAL AID.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, OKAY.
LOOK AT THAT FROM A VETERAN STANDPOINT.
NOW THAT VETERANS ARE PRIORITY POPULATION YES.
THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE BOND PROGRAM.
LET'S SEE, FOR, UH, COMMUNICATIONS ENGAGEMENT, UH, WHAT I OBSERVED DURING ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS WAS, UM, THERE WEREN'T MANY, UH, TRANSLATING RESOURCES.
UM, IS THAT, DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE 'EM IN THE ROOM? OR DO WE NEED, UH, TO ALLOCATE MORE FUNDING TO SUPPORT, UH, THE, THE TOOLS TO ENSURE THAT FOLKS CAN HAVE THE TRANSLATING DEVICES? SO THIS HAS ACTUALLY GONE, ALANA, WITH COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT.
THIS HAS ACTUALLY GONE OVER TO THE OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
SO THEY ARE HELPING WITH ALL OF THE TRANSLATION SERVICES AND ALL THAT.
LIZ EXPAND THE, THE SHORT ANSWER COUNCILMAN IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE, WE'VE ADDED RESOURCES TO OUR BUDGET AS WE STARTED TO BEEF THAT UP.
AND EVEN IF WE HAVE BUDGET ISSUES, WE'LL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION.
SOMETIMES WE HAVE AN ISSUE WITH CONTRACT AVAILABILITY.
BUT MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT MONEY IS NOT REALLY THE ISSUE THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
AND THEN FOR, UM, FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY BUDGET, UH, I WANNA THANK JUSTINA FOR SENDING US THE LIST WITH ALL THE VACANCIES.
THAT WAS ONE OF OUR REQUESTS AND SENT THAT.
UM, BUT I NOTICED THAT FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THERE ARE A COUP, THERE ARE SIX, UH, VACANCIES.
[01:10:01]
UM, DO WE KNOW WHAT THOSE VACANCIES ARE? COUNCILMAN? THE VACANCIES? WE HAVE FOUR DIVISIONS.THEY'RE, UH, LITIGATION, PROSECUTION REGULATORY, AND COMMERCIAL PROSECUTION.
WE HAVE TWO, UH, IN THE OTHER THREE DIVISIONS.
WE HAVE ONE OPENING, AND THEN WE HAVE ONE LEGAL ASSISTANT OPENING.
UH, JUSTINA, UH, JUST WANNA FLIP THROUGH A FEW QUESTIONS OF MINE ON, ON THE SLIDES.
UM, AND THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PLUS UPS IN EACH ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
AND, AND MAYBE THIS IS FOR ERIC.
ERIC, UM, WITH THIS PROPOSED BUDGET, HOW MANY ADDITIONAL POSITIONS ARE WE, UH, ARE YOU REQUESTING FOR CITY STAFF? TOTAL WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 PROPOSED BUDGET, THERE'S 301 INCREASED POSITIONS.
AND WHAT WILL THAT TOTAL BRING US TO? UH, IT'S 13,000 ZERO, LET'S SEE, 362, I BELIEVE.
IT, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR OPTICS AND TRANSPARENCY, I WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEEN A SLIDE THAT REFLECTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS OUR BASELINE, WHAT HAS IT BEEN FOR CIVILIAN POSITIONS? WHAT ARE WE ASKING FOR, UH, THIS YEAR COMPARED TO OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS? AND WHY THE OVERALL INCREASE AND WHAT IS THE BUDGET IMPACT FOR THESE ADDITIONAL 300? WHAT IS A BUDGET, UH, IMPACT FOR OVER 300 POSITIONS TO THE, TO OUR 23 BUDGET? COUNCILMAN? COUPLE OF POINTS.
SO OF THE 301 POSITIONS, ROUGHLY ABOUT A HUNDRED ARE UNIFORM POSITIONS AND THE FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS, THE BALANCE, OUR CIVILIANS, WE INCLUDED A DETAILED RESPONSE, ONE OF THE FOLLOW UP MEMOS COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
SO I'LL RECIRCULATE THAT AFTER THIS MEETING TODAY.
ONE THING WE DID NOT INCLUDE IS A TOTAL VALUE OF THOSE POSITIONS.
WE'LL ADD THAT TO THE RESPONSE TODAY.
UH, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY NEW POSITIONS, WHAT IS IT COSTING US FOR THIS NEXT YEAR? UM, 'CAUSE I RE I REMEMBER THIS WAS A NUMBER OF YEARS BACK WHEN I THINK MS. SCULLY CAME, UM, AS A CITY MANAGER.
SHE, REFRESH MY MEMORY, ERIC, WHAT, WHEN SHE FIRST CAME IN, WASN'T THERE A LARGE RIFF HERE IN THE CITY, CITY STAFF POSITIONS? UM, WASN'T THERE SOME CUTS POSITIONS? WELL, THERE, THERE WAS THE RECESSION BACK IN OH EIGHT OR OH NINE TIMEFRAME.
THERE WERE SOME ADJUSTMENTS WHERE, UM, POSITIONS WERE MOVED OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, BUT THERE WAS, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONLY THING I REMEMBER BACK IN LATER ON.
IT SEEMED LIKE WE CUT IT DOWN TO LIKE 12,000 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
YEAH, AND I THINK THE, AND YOU, YOU, THE, THE COUNCIL HEARD THIS IN A NUMBER OF THE PRESENTATIONS.
I MEAN, WE TOOK A DIFFERENT APPROACH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE BOND PROGRAM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES TO DELIVER.
WE TOOK THE, A SIMILAR APPROACH WITH THE AIRPORT AND THE TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM BEING VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, I MEAN, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY ARE EXPECTING PROJECTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THOSE THINGS.
UM, WE CAN'T DO MORE, UM, WITH THE SAME AMOUNT YOU PROBABLY NOTICED IN A NUMBER OF THE PRESENTATIONS, WE BEEFED UP OUR FINANCE MANAGEMENT, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTRACTUAL, UH, CONTRACT COORDINATORS AND SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MONITORING THOSE CONTRACTS.
UH, WE, WE ADDED, UH, ADDITIONAL STAFF IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AND WORLD HERITAGE.
UM, BUT WE, WE, THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN VERY, UM, BLEAK YEARS IN TERMS OF ADDING POSITIONS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND THE NEED TO CUT BACK.
UM, AND, AND AS THINGS REOPEN, IT'S BACK TO, IT'S BACK TO BUSINESS.
BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY PUT, ADD A VALUE TO THAT FOLLOW UP, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE GAVE THE COUNCIL SEVERAL WEEKS AGO.
SO YOU CAN PUT A DOLLAR AMOUNT ON THAT.
UM, IT'S JUST MY, MY CONCERN OVERALL, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL BUDGET, HOW MANY ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS WE'RE BRINGING ON WHAT THE TOTAL COST IS, AND, UM, THE CONTINUAL GROWTH OF, UH, OUR CITY BUREAUCRACY.
AND THAT, AND I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WE'RE UP TO $3.4 BILLION NOW.
THAT'S A $200 MILLION INCREASE FROM JUST FROM LAST YEAR.
SO WHERE'S THAT MONEY GOING? AND, AND, AND PART OF THAT IS GOING TO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS ALONG WITH,
[01:15:01]
UH, PERSONNEL, UM, INCOME.UM, OUR, OUR PAY SALARIES ARE INCREASING ALSO.
AND THAT THOSE ARE TWO BIG CHUNKS THAT ARE, UH, ADDING TO THAT 200 MILLION.
SO, JUST, JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT.
UM, ON THE, ON THE C P S THING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE $50 MILLION, AND I, I'VE BEEN A PROPONENT THAT WE SHOULD INCLUDE ALL $75 MILLION AS A, A REBATE TO OUR, UH, TO OUR CUSTOMERS OUT THERE.
AND ONE OF THE, UM, THERE THAT 25 MILLION, WHAT, WHAT, BECAUSE IT IS A TOTAL OF 75 MILLION, BUT WE'RE PROPOSING ONLY A 50 MILLION.
WHAT, WHERE'S THAT 25 MILLION AND WHERE, WHAT, WHAT'S THE PROPOSAL ON THAT? AGAIN? THE, THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, FOR THAT $25 MILLION BROKE UP INTO THREE AREAS.
ONE WAS AN ADDITIONAL $6 MILLION IN, IN ADDITIONAL SIDEWALKS, A $9 MILLION TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OR, UM, CONSTRUCTION OF A ALL HAZARDS WAREHOUSE.
UH, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE, UH, UM, THE COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
AND THE THIRD CATEGORY WAS IN, UH, CASH FUNDING NEXT YEAR'S, UH, PROGRAM OF THE EDWARDS AFER PROTECTION PROGRAM.
AND, AND I THINK THAT, UH, THOSE THREE AREAS WE COULD CERTAINLY FUND, UM, AND OTHER AVENUES, UM, FOR THOSE, FOR THAT 25 MILLION, AND I, I KEEP LOOKING AT THIS, 25 MILLION SHOULD BE ADDED TO THAT 50, BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT THE RATE PAYERS ARE REALLY DO.
AND PEOPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT GETTING FEEDBACK.
LEMME TELL YOU, 80% OF MY FEEDBACK IN DISTRICT 10 IS PEOPLE WANT THEIR MONEY BACK.
AND IT'S, IT'S THAT SIMPLE, THAT SIMPLE.
THEY KNOW BETTER WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR MONEY THAN WE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
OR THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
THEY WANT THEIR MONEY BACK, THEY WANT THEIR REBATES.
SO, UH, UH, IT'S VERY EASY FOR ME TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
I, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FULL 75.
AND THEN I, I THINK THE OPTION OF OPTING OUT OF THAT PROGRAM AND SELECTING ONE OR TWO CATEGORIES FOR IT TO GO IN, I THINK IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA.
UH, FOR, FOR FOLKS THAT SAY, YEAH, WE, WE DON'T NEED THAT MONEY BACK.
WE'D LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE IT INTO THESE PROGRAMS. BUT LIKE I SAID, CLOSE TO 80% IN DISTRICT 10 OF THE, OF THE COMMENTS COMING BACK TO ME IN VARIOUS FORMS, PHONE CALLS, EMAILS, UH, FACEBOOK SURVEYS, 80% WANT THEIR MONEY BACK.
AND I THINK, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY CLEAR TO ME ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING WITH THAT $75 MILLION.
UM, YOU KNOW, YEAH, THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER IDEAS WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING BACK AT WHAT THE CUSTOMERS HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, THEY'RE EXPECTING SOMETHING IN RETURN.
AND, AND IF, IF, IF THEY KNOW THAT THIS MONEY IS AVAILABLE, THEY WANT THAT MONEY BACK IN THEIR POCKETBOOKS AND NOT, NOT FOR US TO SPEND IT ON SOMETHING ELSE.
SO THOSE ARE MY MAJOR COMMENTS ON THAT.
UM, I'VE SAID THAT SEVERAL TIMES.
I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US FUND THOSE OTHER AREAS AT 25 MILLION BY SOME OTHER, I MEAN, SIDEWALKS, MY GOODNESS, SIDEWALKS, UM, PUT THAT MONEY BACK INTO THAT POT TO REFUND TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
THEY'VE SPOKEN, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.
COUNCILS MEMBER PERRY, COUNCILS MEMBER ELAS.
WE HAD A, UM, BACK TO BACK TO, UH, H O A MEETINGS IN MY DISTRICT AT ONE H O A MEETING.
UH, WE PROPOSED TO THEM THAT, UM, THERE WERE TWO CHOICES AND WE ASKED THEM TO VOTE.
THERE WAS ABOUT 70 PEOPLE THERE.
WE ASKED 'EM TO VOTE WITH THEIR HANDS, WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANTED CHOICE NUMBER ONE, WHICH WAS $50 MILLION RETURNED, UM, TO THEM, OR CHOICE NUMBER TWO.
AND WE DESCRIBED THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, THE REAP AND, UH, THE HEAT ISLAND PROGRAMS. AND, UM, AND, UH, ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO PEOPLE WANTED THEIR MONEY BACK NEXT NIGHT AT ANOTHER H O A, WE THEN SAID, WE'RE GONNA GIVE BACK $30.
SO WE SAID, WE'RE GONNA GIVE BACK TO EACH OF YOU $30, UH, ON AVERAGE.
AND, UM, OR CHOICE NUMBER TWO, WOULD YOU LIKE THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM, HEAT ISLAND, AND ALL THAT? AND WE WENT THROUGH IT.
WHAT WAS VERY STRANGE IS THAT THESE FOLKS WEREN'T DIVIDED WAS
AND THEN THEY SAID, WAIT A SECOND, ARE YOU SERIOUS? AND I WAS LIKE, HEY, I'M SERIOUS.
AND THEY SAID, SO THE CHOICE IS $30, OR WE SPENT ON THESE OTHER PROGRAMS. I SAID, YES.
NOW THIS IS THE INTERACTIVE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
[01:20:01]
LET'S THE, LIKE, THIS IS WHERE YOU TELL YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER WHAT YOU WANT, 1, 2, 3 VOTE.AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS, IT WAS TWO VERY CURIOUS, UH, UM, EXPERIENCES.
THEN WE WENT TO NEXTDOOR AND WE ASKED, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I THINK WE WERE FAIR, UH, IN, IN POSING THE QUESTION.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, WE GOT, UH, PEOPLE WANTING THEIR MONEY BACK AND PEOPLE WANTING THIS WEATHERIZATION BACK.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I I'LL TELL YOU THAT WHEN PRESENTED WITH, UH, UH, WITH A CHOICE, UM, I'M NOT GETTING A, UH, YOU KNOW, A RESOUNDING GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK, RIGHT? IT'S NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT, LIKE YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING IN D 10, COUNCILMAN PERRY.
BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS PROPOSAL OF, UH, OF USING THIS, THESE MILLIONS FOR WEATHERIZATION AND HEAT ISLAND AND REAP AND ALL THAT, I, I HAVE YET TO SEE ANYBODY OR HEAR WHAT THE, WHAT SUCCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, AND LIKE, WHAT'S THE BUSINESS PLAN FOR THIS MONEY, UM, IN THE ABSENCE OF A BUSINESS PLAN OR A DEFINITION OF SUCCESS.
UM, I, I'M NOT COMFORTABLE, UH, WITH THIS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A, THERE'S A GUY WHO I DISLIKE VERY MUCH, UM, WHO SAID, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE DOING THINGS WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.
THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS MR. TRUMP IN 2016.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND PUBLIC DOLLARS, IN MY OPINION, ARE THE QUINTESSENTIAL EXAMPLE OF OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.
UM, AND I, I DON'T THINK, UM, THAT I'D FEEL GOOD ABOUT VOTING TO KEEP THAT MONEY, UH, AND SPEND IT ON THINGS UNLESS I KNOW THAT THERE'S A BUSINESS PLAN I CAN GET BEHIND.
AND TO DATE, I HAVE YET TO SEE ONE.
UM, SO ANYWAY, THIS, THIS DOESN'T GET MY SUPPORT.
AND ERIC, I, I APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK YOU GUYS HAVE PUT INTO THIS RECOMMENDATION.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T TREAT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS CAVALIERLY AND, UH, I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU DO THAT, AND CERTAINLY NOT IN THIS INSTANCE.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING TO ME, UM, SEPARATELY.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU WENT TO A LOT OF OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS AND PRESENTED THIS AND GOT THEIR OPINIONS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS ROLLED OUT, UM, IN, IN PUBLIC, IN A ROOM LIKE THIS.
AND SO, UM, WE, UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY WHO WAS, YOU KNOW, SURPRISED THAT THIS WAS THE RECOMMENDATION.
WE'D ALL HEARD ABOUT IT IN THE BACK ROOM, UM, ONE BY ONE WHEN YOU TALKED TO US.
AND SO I THINK YOU'VE BEEN FAITHFUL TO THAT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT YOU'RE USING YOUR BEST JUDGMENT TO BRING US SOME RECOMMENDATION.
SOME OF US LIKE IT, SOME OF US DON'T.
THAT'S THE NATURE OF DELIBERATIVE GOVERNMENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK YOU KNOW WHERE I'LL, I'LL VOTE ON THIS ONE.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WEATHERIZATION, UH, HEAT ISLAND MITIGATION, RESILIENCY AT EMERGENCY CENTERS, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE, UH, PAST DUE CRITICAL CARE RESIDENTS, UH, LEVERAGING FEDERAL ENERGY FUNDS, UH, WITH MATCHING CITY OR C P SS FUNDS.
UH, WHAT COULD 75 MILLION DO TO ASSIST C P S ENERGY ON IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND LOWERING COSTS AND RESILIENCY? UH, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ALL, I THINK, REALLY SIGNIFICANT ISSUES.
AND WE AS A COUNCIL HAS NOT SIT, SAT DOWN AND DELIBERATED ABOUT THE VALUES OF THOSE, WHAT THEY WOULD COST, WHAT THEIR RETURN COULD BE, WHAT IT COULD MEAN TO THIS CITY IN THE LONG TERM.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE TERMS, WE'VE ADVOCATED THAT ONE OR ANOTHER OF US SUPPORT DOING SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE VALUE OF, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T TAKEN THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE VALUES ARE FOR EACH OF THOSE.
BUT I THINK ALL OF US WOULD AGREE, THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT THINGS THAT DESERVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION.
UH, AS MUCH AS I HAVE RESPECT FOR OUR CITY STAFF, NO ONE CAME TO ME AND TOLD ME ABOUT THIS 50 MILLION, $25 MILLION SPLIT, OR ASKED MY OPINION.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE HAD TO RESPOND TO IT JUST BASED ON THESE ISSUES THAT I HEAR EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT.
WEATHERIZATION, HEAT ISLAND MITIGATION, DEMAND RESPONSE, RESILIENCY, TAKING CARE OF CRITICAL CARE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO HAVE THEIR ENERGY ON, UH, LEVERAGING DOLLARS, OR WHAT CAN WE HELP C P S ENERGY DO THAT'LL HELP IN THE LONG RUN LOWER ALL OF OUR BILLS? I THINK
[01:25:01]
IT WOULDN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR US TO SIMPLY SAY, OKAY, LET'S COMMIT THAT MONEY NOW, UH, WITHOUT GIVING SERIOUS CONSIDERATION AND DEBATE, UH, AND, AND EDUCATING OURSELVES ON THESE OTHER ISSUES.I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE TODAY SAYING, YAY, UH, FOR THE REBATE.
IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T BELIEVE EVERYBODY DESERVES TO HAVE MORE MONEY IN THEIR POCKET, BUT I THINK EVERYBODY DESERVES TO HAVE A BETTER WAY OF AFFORDING TO LIVE WHERE THEY LIVE GOING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.
IF WE CAN FIND BETTER WAYS OF HELPING THEM TO DO THAT.
UH, THIS IS A SIMPLY A, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY.
UM, AND I REALLY BELIEVE IT, IT DESERVES A, THE SIGNIFICANT LONG-TERM ATTENTION TO THIS COUNCIL.
THAT $50 MILLION IS IN THE BANK.
IT HASN'T BEEN SPENT, UH, UNTIL WE SAY IT'S SPENT.
IF IT SITS THERE FOR 60 DAYS, 90 DAYS, WHILE WE HAVE A SERIOUS DELIBERATION ABOUT HOW THAT MONEY SHOULD BE SPENT, DOESN'T COST THE CITY ANYTHING.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'LL MAKE INTEREST ON IT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, UH, IF WE SAY, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GO WITH THIS REBATE, SO I UNDERSTAND THERE'D BE A DEDUCTION OF 12 OR 13%.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE PERCENTAGE MIGHT BE OFF PEOPLE'S BILLS, BUT IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT $50 MILLION, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE RECEIVE MONTHLY FROM, UH, C P S ENERGY IN FUNDS THAT WE GET, BUT LET'S SAY, BECAUSE WE, UH, WE GET ABOUT $360 MILLION A YEAR, MAYBE MORE, IT'S 30 TO 32 30 $3 MILLION A YEAR.
YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE ONLY GONNA WAIVE 13%, I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT ADDS UP TO $50 MILLION, OR IS IT GONNA HAVE TO BE OVER A COUPLE OF MONTHS? I MEAN, COULD SOMEBODY EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THAT WORKS? AND, AND EVEN IF YOU CAN
YES, MAYOR, IT IS ONE AND A HALF PERCENT OF OUR, OF OUR BUDGET.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU WHAT, SPENDING $50 MILLION IS A REALLY BIG DEAL.
I THINK IT'S BEEN FOR ANY COUNCIL IN THE PAST, AND IT IS FOR THIS COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I STAND ON THINGS.
UM, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES THAT I, I DON'T WANT THE FULL 10 MINUTES
UM, I'M, I REALLY VALUE MY COLLEAGUES' OPINION, UM, THE NEED FOR A BUSINESS PLAN.
I, I, I THINK THAT'S ABSOLUTELY VALID.
UM, THE, YOU KNOW, DO WE NEED MORE TIME TO DISCUSS? I, I THINK THAT'S A FAIR POINT AS WELL.
UM, THE LETTER FROM YOUR CONSTITUENT IS FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS THAT COUPLE IS, IS MOVING.
UM, MY, MY MOM IS IN A SIMILAR, UH, SITUATION EXCEPT CUT THAT IN HALF BECAUSE MY DAD'S NOT THERE ANYMORE.
UM, SO I'LL JUST, UM, I'LL TELL YOU, I'LL, I'LL START WITH WHAT I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
AND THAT IS, UM, MAKING THE IMMEDIATE CONTRIBUTION, UH, TO REAP, UH, TO HELP RESIDENTS, UM, WITH THEIR BILLS AND, AND GET SOME LEVEL OF FINANCIAL STABILITY, UM, OFFLINE.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO GET FROM, FROM C P S, IF POSSIBLE, IS HOW MANY PATHS DO, UH, RATE PAYERS IN DISTRICT SEVEN, WILL THIS HELP, UM, OUT OF HOW MANY AND HOW MANY OF THOSE WHO ARE AT RISK OF DISCONNECT, WILL THAT HELP? UM, OUT OF HOW MANY AND HOW CAN, MAYBE THIS IS ALSO FOR ERIC, HOW CAN I MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN DISTRICT SEVEN WHO NEEDS UTILITY HELP GETS IT SO THAT THE LIGHTS DON'T TURN OUT? UM, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT THE REAP GUIDELINE MODIFICATIONS THAT BEN DISCUSSED IS GONNA BE SUFFICIENT FOR THAT, BUT IF YOU CAN EXPLAIN HOW IT WILL BE, I, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY FIRST PRIORITY, IS MAKING SURE THAT THE DISTRICT SEVEN RESIDENTS ARE TAKEN CARE OF, UM, AND HAVE THE LIGHTS ON.
UM, DID YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? NO, LET'S WAIT TILL THE END.
THAT WAY YOU WE'RE BURNING YOUR TIME.
[01:30:01]
IT.YOU WANT US TO ANSWER
WHEN I FIRST LEARNED, UH, ABOUT THE REBATE, ERIC, YOU, UM, YOU GAVE ME THE, THE PREVIEW OF THE BUDGET, AND I WAS SUPPORTIVE OF RESIDENTS GETTING SOME MONEY BACK AFTER, UH, PAYING SUCH HIGH BILLS.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE OWED THEM.
AND I, I WAS REALLY CONCERNED THAT THE PUBLIC OPINION WOULD SEE US AS LIKE, MONEY HUNGRY FOR ALL THAT WINDFALL THAT EVERYONE HAD SUCH A HARD TIME WITH.
AND I HONESTLY, I WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
SO I THOUGHT THAT THE, THAT THE REBATE WAS, WAS FAIR.
UM, AND, UH, SINCE THEN I REALLY APPRECIATE BEN, ERIC, UH, THE MAYOR, C P S THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE TO, UH, TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THE REQUESTS, LIKE THAT LANGUAGE REQUEST THAT WE PUT IN THERE FOR THE OPT OUT.
UM, I, I DON'T KNOW OF A FEW YEARS AGO WE WOULD'VE DONE THAT.
WELL, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE WINDFALL, BUT WE THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE IT, THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
SO THANK YOU, UM, FOR, FOR DOING THAT WORK.
UM, BEFORE I LEARNED OF THE WINDFALL, AND, AND BEFORE I SPOKE WITH YOU ERIC, I HAD BEGUN, UH, TO DESIGN, UH, THE, BASICALLY A DEDICATED FUND FOR RESILIENCY OF SUSTAINABILITY.
AND I WAS SHOPPING IT AROUND AND I WANTED TO PROPOSE SOMETHING THAT CAME FROM A, A REVENUE STREAM THAT WAS TIED TO SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
AND THAT DIDN'T DUPLICATE THE 350,000,005 YEAR STEP PROGRAM THAT COUNCIL APPROVED IN JUNE.
I WANTED TO FILL THE GAPS THAT WE HAD.
NOW THERE ARE A TON OF GAPS, RIGHT? WE'LL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO, TO FILL THEM ALL.
AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR, FOR WORKING WITH ME ON TRYING TO FIND A, A WAY WE COULD FUND THAT AND, AND FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THAT, I, I WANNA, I WANNA THANK YOU, UH, FOR THAT.
BUT I KNEW THAT THE STEP PROGRAM DIDN'T DO EVERYTHING I THOUGHT WAS NECESSARY.
I HAD GIVEN C P RICK, I KNOW MY TEAM GAVE YOU SOME INPUT AND YOU SAID, THANK YOU, BUT WE'RE GONNA KEEP IT THIS WAY,
AND SO THAT IS WHY, UM, THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS I FELT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO PUT THIS OTHER PROPOSAL.
UM, AND YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSAL DURING THE AMENDMENTS PART OF THE MEETING
UH, SO, UM, THANK YOU ALL, UH, VERY MUCH.
THE, THE ONE QUESTION I, I DO HAVE, WELL, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT ONE QUESTION I'D I'D LIKE TO HEAR DISCUSSED TODAY IS A REBATE.
SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GIVING BACK PEOPLE SOMETHING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE GOT LUCKY OR, OR THINGS WERE GOOD THIS YEAR EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE REALLY BAD FOR PEOPLE, BUT THEY WERE GOOD FINANCIALLY.
WHY WOULDN'T WE GIVE EVERYBODY THE SAME REBATE BACK? WHY WOULD WE DO IT BASED ON HOW MUCH WAS USED? AND, AND THE REASON I ASK THIS IS BECAUSE WHAT I'M HEARING A LOT IS THE REBATE ALLOWS US TO HELP THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT, BUT THE REBATE IS GONNA BE BIGGER FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN A BIG HOME WHO KEPT IT REALLY CHILLY VERSUS THE REBATE THAT SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN A MODEST HOME WHO DIDN'T CRANK UP THE AC BECAUSE THEY MAY NOT HAVE ONE OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT.
UM, TO ME THEY SEEM LIKE THE MORE NEEDY OF THE TWO HOUSEHOLDS, BUT THEY WILL BE GETTING A LESSER REBATE.
SO, UH, COULD, COULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHY WE, OR HOW WE WOULD MAKE IT SO THAT EVERYONE GETS AN EQUAL REBATE? AND, UM, YEAH.
SO LET, WELL, WHILE BEN'S GOING UP THERE, LET ME JUST REITERATE THAT, THAT, UM, THE STAFF PROPOSAL, UM, IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET WAS TO TREAT ALL RATE PAYERS UNIFORM AND EQUAL, WHICH IS A CRITICAL ELEMENT THAT, THAT, UM, WE SHOULD, THAT WE NEED TO ABIDE BY.
UM, THAT, THAT IS, UM, WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT THAT C P S COLLECTS THEIR RATES.
WHEN THE COUNCIL APPROVES RATES, YOU APPROVE RATES FOR THE ENTIRE SERVICE AREA, NOT FOR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO USING THAT SAME LOGIC WITHIN THE CONFINES OF STATE LAW, IT WAS, IT'S, IT'S BASED ON THE PROPOSAL.
THE STAFF PROPOSAL WAS BASED ON ENERGY USAGE IN THE MONTH OF JULY UNIFORM AND EQUAL.
AND, AND I MEAN THAT'S THE BASIC ELEMENT THAT BEN CAN MAYBE ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THAT.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF RUDY'S GOT A, A THOUGHT OF THAT, BUT THAT WAS THE BASIS OF OUR RECOMMENDATION, UM, THAT WE, WE AND C P S OPERATE IN.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN, UM, SOME DISCUSSION AROUND, UH, CUSTOMERS GETTING LARGER CREDITS BACK.
[01:35:01]
THE RESIDENTIAL AND THE COMMERCIAL TIERS, EVERYBODY'S GETTING ABOUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 12.5 AND 12.7% OF THEIR JULY BILL BACK.SO WE'RE GIVING IT BACK BASED ON THE WAY WE EARNED IT.
AND WE USED JULY JUST AS A REPRESENTATIVE MONTH, AND WE USED THE SUMMER BECAUSE WE KNEW RESIDENTIAL USAGE WAS HIGHER.
AND SO THAT PUSHED MORE OF THE REBATE OVER TO THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY DEFENSIBLE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF HOW WE EARNED IT.
SO THAT IS HOW WE GOT TO, UM, A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE SHOULD DO IT IN AN EQUAL AND UNIFORM WAY BASED ON THE WAY IT WAS GENERATED.
I I THINK I COULD, UM, ALRIGHT, I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE INTENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS WAS ABLE TO RECOVER AS MUCH AS THEY COULD.
I I DO THINK THAT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT.
'CAUSE THAT'S, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHO I SERVE, RIGHT? THOSE ARE, THAT'S HOW WE DETERMINE OUR DISTRICT BOUNDARIES IS WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, NOT, NOT WHERE THE BUSINESSES ARE.
UM, NOT THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT
UM, HA HA HA, BUT
LET'S FACE IT, IT'S NOT EQUITABLE, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S, IT MAY BE FAIR, BUT THAT'S NOT EQUITABLE.
I THINK COUNCILWOMAN THAT THE, THE, THE BASIS FOR THE RECOMMENDATION AGAIN WAS TO, TO TRY TO GO BACK TO EQUAL AND UNIFORM THE WAY WE GENERATED IT, RECOGNIZING THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT.
I I I I UNDERSTAND THAT WE OWN, I'M GIVING YOU DIFFERENT BASIS
AND CAN YOU TRY IT ON A DIFFERENT BASIS? AND I KNOW THAT WE ARE AT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE ARE THE OWNER OF C P S ENERGY, BUT I, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE WE, WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE, AND C P S ENERGY IS THE ONLY ELECTRIC PROVIDER THAT CAN PROVIDE SERVICE WITHIN THEIR TERRITORY THAT TERRITORY'S BIGGER THAN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIALLY A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN THE COUNTY.
SO WE OWN THE UTILITY THAT THAT IS THE ONLY SERVICE PROVIDER FOR ALL OF THESE 900,000 CUSTOMERS.
SO OUR THOUGHT WAS WE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I WENT THROUGH, I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL THOSE FACTORS AGAIN THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
INFLATION, ALL THOSE THINGS, WE ARE AN UNUSUAL SITUATION GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE WE'VE PICKED UP FROM C P S.
UM, BUT ALL OF THOSE OTHER FACTORS PUT US IN A POSITION WHERE WE HAD $50 MILLION THAT WE FELT LIKE WE COULD DO SOMETHING WITH.
AND THEN IT CAME BACK TO HOW CAN WE HELP AND DO IT IN RECOGNITION OF ALL OF THOSE FACTORS THAT I TALKED ABOUT.
AND THAT'S WHAT LED US TO THAT RECOMMENDATION.
SO THAT'S A NO, IT CAN'T BE DONE EQUAL.
AND, AND IF WE HAVE FURTHER CONVERSATION, I WOULD SUS I WOULD, UM, ADVISE AND RECOMMEND TO THE, TO THE ATTORNEY THAT WE DO THAT IN EXEC SESSION.
ERIC, YOU WANT ME TO COVER THE REPORT? THANK YOU.
UM, I, I THINK THIS IS A CLARIFYING OH, GO AHEAD, BEN.
MAYOR, DO YOU MIND IF I, I, I RESPOND TO THE QUESTION ON, ON THE REAP, UH, AND YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HOW WE WERE GONNA PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.
SO COUNCILWOMAN, JUST BRIEFLY, THIS WAS A SLIDE THAT WE PRESENTED BACK ON AUGUST 30TH.
UM, I'LL JUST QUICKLY KIND OF GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN.
THE, THE, WE WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT ALL, ALL CUSTOMERS THAT HAD PAST DUE BALANCES THAT WERE ON THE AFFORDABLY AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
UH, CPSS HAS SOME ARPA FUNDS LEFT THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE APPLYING TO THOSE ACCOUNTS.
THE ELIGIBLE ACCOUNTS, THAT'S ABOUT $7 MILLION.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT THAT ESTIMATED PASS DUE AMOUNT FOR THESE CUSTOMERS WILL BE ABOUT 16.7 MILLION.
AND THEN I MENTIONED THE SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS CONTRIBUTION THAT THE CITY WOULD PUT INTO REAP.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT 5.5 MILLION OF THAT BE BE USED FOR MEDIA ASSISTANCE AND THAT WE BANK THE REST FOR FUTURE ASSISTANCE.
C P SS IS PUTTING IN ADDITIONAL MONEY INTO REAP THIS YEAR AS WELL.
SO THAT'S THE 3 MILLION ON THE BOTTOM.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE WOULD THEN USE TO GIVE CREDITS OF UP TO, UH, $300 OR $300 NOT TO EXCEED SOMEBODY'S OUTSTANDING BALANCE.
SO WE'RE DOWN TO ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
THE OTHER THING THAT C P S IS DOING IS THEY'RE ALLOWING CUSTOMERS TO GET ON A, UM, I USE THE RIGHT TERM MODIFIED BUDGET, DID I SAY IT RIGHT? MODIFIED MODIFIED BUDGET PLAN WHERE ESSENTIALLY THEY CAN SPREAD THIS PAST DUE AMOUNT OVER 48 MONTHS.
[01:40:01]
ARE ON THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM THAT'S STILL OWE MONEY AFTER THESE CREDITS ARE APPLIED AND ARPAS APPLIED, WOULD BE ABLE TO SPREAD THAT PAST DUE AMOUNT OVER 48 MONTHS.UH, CUSTOMERS THAT ARE NOT ON A D P, I MEAN, THE BIGGEST THING AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS FOR THEM TO CONTACT C P S BECAUSE THERE ARE PAYMENT PLANS AND OTHER THINGS THAT C P S CAN WORK WITH THEM ON AS WELL.
SO IN ORDER TO, TO MAKE SURE THEIR SERVICE CONTINUES, THE BIGGEST THING IS THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ENGAGING WITH C P S ENERGY.
UM, AND I WAS GONNA ASK SPECIFICALLY, ANDY, CAN BUSINESSES OPT OUT? YES.
SO IF, IF THEY, SO I'D LOVE TO ENCOURAGE MAYBE A, UM, CLIMATE CARE CAMPAIGN, RIGHT? SO IF BUSINESSES DECIDE TO OPT OUT, OBVIOUSLY THAT, THAT, UM, THEY RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF FUTURE, UM, INVESTMENT.
AND SO ANYWAY, THAT MIGHT BE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION AND I THINK RUDY WANTS TO SAY SOMETHING.
SO, SO COUNCILMAN, I WAS JUST GONNA POINT OUT ANY CUSTOMER, ANY OF THOSE 900,000 CUSTOMERS CAN OPT OUT.
RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, ANY OF THOSE CAN ELECT TO OPT OUT OF THE CREDIT.
UM, WE HAVE TALKED TO C P S, IF YOU DID MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS OPTION, UM, THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF INFOR EDUCATION AND INFORMATION PUSHED OUT TO, TO CUSTOMERS.
UH, THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT DOING IT THROUGH THE BILL INSERTS, SOCIAL MEDIA, DIRECT EMAIL, ALL OF THOSE THINGS TO TRY TO PUSH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN ABOUT IF YOU WERE TO GO WITH THE OPTION ON, UM, OPTING OUT EITHER TO, UM, THEY COULD KEEP THEIR CREDIT OR, UM, THEY COULD CONTRIBUTE THAT TO REAP, TO EITHER BE USED FOR LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE FOR RATE PAYERS, OR COULD BE USED FOR WEATHERIZATION TO INCLUDE MINOR REPAIR.
AND I'D LOVE TO, UM, MAYBE HAVE A, A STRATEGY SESSION IF, IF WE DID GO END UP WITH THAT RIGHT.
TO ENCOURAGE SOME OF OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS OPT-OUT.
BUT TO, TO, TO GIVE THEM THE ABILITY.
'CAUSE I DO KNOW THAT THERE'S, UM, MAYBE SOME THAT, THAT WILL HAVE A LARGER REBATE THAT MIGHT BE WILLING RIGHT.
TO, TO GIVE BACK TO, TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT MIGHT BE THEIR LITTLE CONTRIBUTION.
SO ANYWAY, UM, BUT I'M GONNA GO ONTO THE AMENDMENT NOW.
SO I, I WANTED TO START OFF BY, UM, ON COUNCILWOMAN YES.
THE AMENDMENTS WILL BE THE NEXT ROUND.
I HAVE YOU FIRST 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU HAVE A CLASS.
I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT WE, THAT CITY STAFF THAT WORKS VERY HARD DRAGGED US TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS RIGHT AFTER FIESTA TO TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET.
AND ERIC TOLD US THEN THAT THERE WAS $26 MILLION COMING IN, IN OVER, SO WE ALL KNEW THAT THE 26 MILLION WERE COMING.
SO THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO PUT ALL THE MONEY BACK IN, WE SHOULD HAVE HAD THAT BACK AT THE BOTANICAL GARDENS.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST THING I'M GONNA SAY.
ANDY, CAN WE, CAN WE DISCUSS THIS MID-YEAR AND GIVE US MORE TIME, UM, TO, TO, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THIS MONEY AND WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE ACTUALLY AS, AS, AS SOMEBODY POINTED OUT, COUNCILWOMAN, THE, THE MONEY WILL BE IN THE CITY, UH, ACCOUNTS, RIGHT? AND SO WE CAN PUT A PLACEHOLDER AND DETERMINE WHEN THE COUNCIL WANTS TO ACT ON IT, BUT AS LONG AS IT'S EARMARKED FOR WHATEVER WE DO FOR THE C WITH THE C P SS REFUND.
SO THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES.
'CAUSE I, I, I, I'D OPT FOR THAT.
THE OTHER THING, BEN, MY QUESTION IS, DOES THIS IMPACT OUR, OUR BOND RATING AT ALL? IF WE WILL THIS IMPACT OUR RATING, OUR BOND RATING, IF WE KEEP IT, IF WE CREDIT IT, IF WE DECIDE TO DO SOMETHING ON THIS MID-YEAR, UM, IN TERMS OF, OF WHICH OPTION WE CHOOSE, OR WHETHER YEAH, WHICHEVER OPTION.
NO, I, I THINK BETWEEN THE, THE RECOMMENDATION TO EITHER, UH, CREDIT IT BACK IN THE WAY WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, OR IF YOU ENDED UP SPENDING IT, I DON'T THINK THE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES ARE GONNA FOCUS ON THAT PART OF IT.
BUT WITH THE CREDIT RATING, IF WE GET COMPLAINTS, AND MY CON OF MANY OF MY CONCERNS IS IT'S A 12.5 BETWEEN A 12.7%, UH, IT'S NOT A, A FLAT RATE.
PEOPLE WILL COMPLAIN, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN, PEOPLE THAT ABOUT THIS, WILL THAT IMPACT OUR RATING IF PEOPLE START, UH, COMPLAINING TO THE P U C ABOUT THE, THE CREDIT WE GIVE THEM,
[01:45:01]
IF WE ISSUE, IF THE COUNCIL DECIDES TO ISSUE CREDIT UNIFORM AND EQUAL, THERE MAY BE ISSUES, BUT THOSE ARE CERTAINLY DEFENDABLE ABOUT WHAT THIS BODY DID IN CONJUNCTION WITH, WITHIN THE REGULATORY FACTORS.BUT, BUT TO GUARANTEE THAT THERE WON'T BE ANY COMPLAINTS, UM, THAT WE'LL JUST HAVE TO DEFEND THAT OH, OH, THERE'LL BE COMPLAINTS.
UM, ANDY, TELL ME WHAT DEFENDING THESE COMPLAINTS IS GONNA, IS IT, IS THIS LEGAL OR IS THIS SENDING STAFF? UH, UH, TELL ME WHAT THAT IS.
THE, UH, THE PROPOSAL IS OUTLINED BY, BY THE CITY STAFF.
AND, UH, TO THE EXTENT OBVIOUSLY, THAT THERE, THERE ARE COMPLAINTS, IT'LL DEPEND ON WHAT THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THOSE COMPLAINTS ARE, UH, AND FRANKLY WHETHER, UH, TO WHAT EXTENT THEY WOULD GAIN ANY GROUND WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, AN ENTITY LIKE THE P U C.
SO, UM, SO THAT MEANS YOU'D HAVE TO SEND A CITY ATTORNEY UP THERE TO DEFEND OUR DECISION.
AND IF IT'S, IF IT'S NOT, IF IT'S NOT, UH, AGREED UPON HERE, THEY'D HAVE MORE BASIS.
WELL, WE WOULD WORK WITH C P S, OBVIOUSLY, AND YES, WE WOULD, WE WOULD HAVE TO GO UP THERE AND DEFEND WHATEVER THE CITY DID.
AND THEN, UM, IF THIS GETS APPROVED ON THURSDAY, WE WOULD BE TAKING MONEY FROM CITY ACCOUNTS, GIVING THEM TWO C P S IN, IN A, LIKE IN A CHECK, IN A CHECK A FOR A $45 MILLION CHECK.
ARE WE WRITING THAT TO C P SS? IF THE CREDIT
WE'D BE GIVING IT BACK TO CITY C P S COFFERS CORRECT.
IN, IN THE FORM OF A $45 MILLION TRANSFER.
SO UNDER THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, WE WOULD BE SENDING $50 MILLION BACK TO C P S, SEVEN AND A HALF WOULD GO INTO THE REAP PROGRAM TO BE USED, AS WE TALKED ABOUT SOME FOR MEDIA ASSISTANCE, SOME TO BE, UM, UM, BANK FOR FUTURE ASSISTANCE.
42.5 MILLION WOULD BE, UM, ALLOCATED BACK FOR THE CUSTOMER CREDITS.
SO, UH, AGAIN, UH, HOW THE MEDIA PORTRAYED THIS, WHAT PEOPLE ARE, WHAT PEOPLE THINK IT IS, AND WHAT, WHAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA ACTUALLY SEE.
SOME PEOPLE ARE GONNA SEE $15, BUT IT ULTIMATELY, IT LEAVES CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND GOES BACK TO C P S.
I THINK ANOTHER PROBLEM IS YOU'RE ASKING US TO DO C P S OUR ENTITY AS, AS THE OWNERS OF C P S WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO DO BUDGET.
AND THAT'S WHY I, AGAIN, I STRESS MY PRIORITY IS CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BUDGET.
HI, UM, MAYOR, I JUST, UH, FIVE MINUTES.
UM, I WANTED TO, TO GO BACK AND, UH, JUST CLOSE OUT THE CONVERSATION ON, ON THE REBATE.
UM, I DID GET A HANDFUL OF EMAILS FROM INDIVIDUALS, UM, AGAIN, WHO ARE NOT IN NECESSARILY IN FINANCIAL NEED, BUT THEY DID STATE A PREFERENCE FOR THE REBATE.
AND LET'S BE CLEAR, I THINK NEED IS, CAN BE A SUBJECTIVE TERM, RIGHT? UM, BUT, UH, AS RATE PAYERS AND EVEN RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO, THEY DO FEEL THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO, UH, ANY, ANY WINDFALLS.
UM, AND THAT'S AN ABSOLUTELY FAIR POSITION.
UH, I DID TALK TO A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS AND SO DID MY TEAM, AND, UH, THEY, THEY HAD RECOMMENDED A REINVESTMENT OF, OF THE MONEY.
SO, UH, BUT, BUT I ALSO AGREE THAT OUR, THAT OUR PLAN FOR REINVESTMENT RIGHT NOW ISN'T FULLY, FULLY FLESHED OUT.
UM, BUT ERIC, IF WE WERE ABLE TO FLESH OUT A PLAN LIKE THAT, COULD WE COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND SAY, LET'S SET ASIDE 50 MILLION FOR THAT? WELL, I THINK, I THINK THAT GOES TO THE, I THINK, UH, THE MAYOR AND ONE OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS MENTIONED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A, OF A POLICY PROSPECTIVELY.
I MEAN, I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER HERE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE TOTAL, IN TOTAL, THE CITY IS DOING WELL FINANCIALLY.
WE HAD A GOOD YEAR OF SALES TAX.
IF WE WERE IN A POSITION WHERE, AND I THINK I'VE SHARED THIS WITH SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF WE WERE IN A POSITION WHERE WE WERE LAYING EMPLOYEES OFF OR CUTTING SERVICES BECAUSE OF, OF LACK OF REVENUE, THEN WE WOULD'VE HELD ON TO ALL THAT MONEY IN ORDER TO BOLSTER UP THOSE SERVICES.
SO I DON'T THINK IT'S AS EASY TO SAY THAT IT, IT, IT WILL, IT'LL BE ANOTHER $50 MILLION NEXT SUMMER.
BUT, BUT THAT'S WHY THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT POLICY IS, IS CRITICAL.
OKAY, WELL, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE WINDFALL MONEY, BUT I THINK IF THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR US, THEN WE SHOULD FIND IT IN THE BUDGET AS WE GO FORWARD.
[01:50:01]
WHAT SEEMS TO BE SUPPORT FOR THE AMENDMENT THAT, THAT I'M PROPOSING.IT DOESN'T DO EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING PROPOSED BY, UM, BY THE COUNCILMAN RIGHT NOW AS AN ALTERNATE.
UM, I ALSO, UH, JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SPOKE TO ME ABOUT THIS, ONE OF, UH, SOMEONE THAT I, I REALLY, REALLY RESPECT, UM, UH, TOLD ME, REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE COMING.
SHE SAID WE'RE COMING FROM A PLACE OF PRIVILEGE.
SHE, SHE ALSO RECOMMENDED REINVESTMENT, AND SHE, SHE ADMITTED THAT SHE WAS COMING FROM A PLACE OF PRIVILEGE AND THAT SOME PEOPLE MIGHT NEED THE MONEY.
UH, BUT SHE ALSO SAID, YOU KNOW, AS A CITY, YOU HAVEN'T DONE THE JOB OF EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT WHY THESE MITIGATION MEASURES ARE, ARE SO IMPORTANT AND THE BENEFITS THAT THEY HAVE.
UM, AND HOW CAN YOU BRING PEOPLE ALONG WITH YOU IF, IF THEY DON'T KNOW THAT? SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO DO THIS THIS COMING YEAR.
UM, I'M GONNA JUMP OVER TO, UM, THE, THE BUDGET.
I'M JUMPING OVER TO THE OTHER PART OF THE PRESENTATION, UH, TODAY.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I TOTALLY ADMIRE MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE REBATE AND EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT THAT WAS BROUGHT UP.
UM, ONE THING I I WANTED TO SAY IS I'M, UH, REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE DISABILITY STATUS REPORT.
UM, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING WHAT THAT, UH, RECOMMENDS.
AND, UM, I HAVE ASKED STAFF IF THEY CAN TELL US, UH, WHICH CROSSINGS, UH, WHICH VISION ZERO CROSSINGS ARE HAP ARE HAPPENING, AND WHEN, AND, UM, COUNCILWOMAN CAVEO HDA REMINDED ME THAT THERE WAS AN ARTICLE ABOUT CULEBRA ROAD, UH, JUST THE OTHER DAY REGARDING, UH, ALL THE FATALITIES ON THAT.
AND I, I WONDERED IF THAT WAS ON THERE.
UM, I KNOW THAT I HAD SET ASIDE SOME MONEY FOR A MIDBLOCK CROSSING FOR, FOR ROAD, AND I, I DO HOPE THAT'S ABLE TO BE COMPLETED IN, IN THE NEXT YEAR.
SO YOU CAN, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH ME, UM, AFTERWARD.
UM, I THINK THAT IS, UH, WHAT I'VE GOT.
UM, SO AGAIN, I'LL TALK ABOUT MY AMENDMENT IN THE NEXT SECTION.
UH, I'M SURPRISED BY THE EXPLANATION I JUST GOT ABOUT GIVING 50 $50 MILLION TO C P S ENERGY.
WHAT WE'RE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS GIVING CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MONEY FROM CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BANK ACCOUNTS TO C P SS, TO GIVE TO NON-CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES.
UH, AND YES, SOME SAN ANTONIO CITIZENS.
AND 12 MILLION OF THAT IS GONNA GO TO NON SAN ANTONIO CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES.
HOW DO WE JUSTIFY GIVING AWAY CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MONEY TO NONCITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO? IT, TO ME, THAT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
NOW, IF WE WANNA GO AHEAD AND GIVE THE MONEY BACK TO C P S CUSTOMERS, WHY DON'T THEY JUST REDUCE THE BILLS TO ALL THE C P S CUSTOMERS BY 12 OR 13% IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER? THAT WAY WE'VE KEPT THE MONEY IN OUR BANK, WHICH IS OUR MONEY, AND THEN IT COLLECTS INTEREST UNTIL, INSTEAD OF GETTING A FULL CHECK FROM C P S, WE JUST PUT THAT MONEY INTO WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE FULL CHECK FROM C P S.
BUT I JUST, IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT FOR ME TO GIVE AWAY OUR CITY MONEY BECAUSE I THINK, ANDY, YOU'VE SAID WHEN THAT MONEY COMES INTO OUR BANK ACCOUNT, THAT'S THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MONEY, RIGHT? AND WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE WANT WITH IT.
UH, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN AND, AND AGAIN, TO CLARIFY, WE CAN DO ANYTHING 'CAUSE IT'S IN OUR BANK ACCOUNTS, RIGHT? RIGHT.
WHEN YOU TURN IT OVER TO C P S RIGHT, AND IT BECOMES A RATE ISSUE, THAT'S WHEN YOU INTRODUCE THE, WE NEED TO TRADE EVERY RATE PAYER EQUALLY, RIGHT? THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION OF WHY, RIGHT? SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS ONLY DOESN'T WORK.
AND WELL, BUT WHAT IF WE GIVE THAT MONEY TO SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS ONLY, IT'S THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MONEY.
IT DOESN'T AFFECT C P S, IT DOESN'T AFFECT THEIR RATES.
IT'S NOT SAYING WE'RE TAKING C P SS MONEY AND SAYING SOME ARE GONNA GIVE IT TO US AND SOME AREN'T.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE OUR MONEY THAT WE'VE RIGHTFULLY BEEN, WE'VE EARNED AS OWNERS OF THAT UTILITY.
AND I, I'M SURE WE IN THE PAST HAVE SENT OUT MAILS, UH, MAILINGS TO CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO IF WE LOOK AT THE RESIDENTIAL CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO, BE THEY 400,000
[01:55:01]
OR 500,000 OUT OF THE 900,000 CUSTOMERS, AND WE GIVE THEM A CHECK DIRECTLY FOR WHATEVER AMOUNT WE DECIDE ON, WE ARE NOT IN VIOLATION OF ANYTHING.'CAUSE WE'RE NOT HAVING C P SS GIVE PREFERENCE TO ANYBODY.
WE'RE JUST MAKING A DECIS DECISION OURSELVES ON HOW WE WOULD SUPPORT OUR OWN CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CITIZENS WITH OUR OWN FUNDING.
NOW, I'M NOT ADVOCATING THAT, SO TO SPEAK, 'CAUSE I REALLY BELIEVE WE NEED TO BE GIVING MORE CONSIDERATION ONTO THE, UH, TO THE VALUE OF WHAT THIS MONEY COULD MEAN IN HELPING EVERYBODY THAT DOES BUSINESS WITH C P S IN THE LONGER TERM.
BUT I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND ADJUST GIVING, OR IF WE'RE GONNA GIVE MONEY BACK, JUST LET C P S REDUCE THE AMOUNT THEY GIVE US THAT MONTH INSTEAD OF US GIVING AWAY CITY OF SAN ANTONIO DOLLARS.
UH, THAT MAKES TO ME A LOT MORE SENSE.
I, I THINK THERE'D BE PEOPLE IN THE CITY WHO, WHO COULD FEEL A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE IN THAT THAN FINDING OUT WE GAVE $12 MILLION TO BUSINESSES THAT AREN'T, AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T EVEN LIVE IN THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE DONE MORE WITH THAT MONEY.
SO I THINK WE'LL HEAR SOME OF THAT ARGUMENT.
UH, I KNOW I'VE GOT ANOTHER MINUTE AND I'D LIKE TO ASK THE CITY MANAGER HOW MUCH OVER BUDGET PROJECTIONS HAS THE CITY'S REVENUE, UH, BEEN THAT WAS FORECASTED FOR, AND WE KNOW ABOUT 75 MILLION FROM C P S, BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL OUR OTHER REVENUE SOURCES? HOW MUCH HAVE THEY BEEN OVER BUDGET FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR? COUNCILMAN? YES, SIR.
I DON'T KNOW THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I KNOW THAT THE C P S ONE IS 21%, BUT, UM, SALES TAX HAS BEEN STRONG THIS YEAR.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THOUGH.
OH, IT'D BE INTERESTING TO HEAR THAT.
AND HOW MUCH OF, OF THAT EXTRA MONEY HAS THE STAFF PLUGGED INTO THE 23 AND 24 BUDGET? ALL OF THAT EXTRA MONEY? WELL, ALL OF IT.
IT'S ALL WITHIN THE, THE, THE PROPOSED BUDGET OF 23 AND THE TWO YEAR BALANCE BUDGET OF 23 AND 24.
JUSTINE'S GOT THE ANSWERS TO THAT.
I MEAN, THE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE IS UP CONSIDERABLY.
WE'VE REBATED OR WE REDUCED THAT.
SO DO, DO YOU WANT AN ANSWER TO THAT, COUNCILMAN? YEAH.
AND LAST THING I'D JUST LIKE TO KNOW IS ARE WE ABIDING BY OUR 15% RESERVES IN THESE TWO YEARS, OR MIGHT IT BE ANY GREATER THAN 15% IN THE BUDGET? THOSE ARE THE COUPLE OF QUESTIONS I HAD.
WE ARE, UM, AT OUR POLICY AT 15% IN THE FOURTH, IN THE SECOND YEAR, 2024.
UH, THIS MAY BE A C P S QUESTION, BUT WHAT IS THE PLAN TO REIMBURSE RENTERS WHO, UM, PAY THEIR RENT BASED OFF OF, UH, IT'S ALL BILLS PAID, RIGHT? BUT IT FLUCTUATES BASED OFF OF USAGE.
WHAT IS THE PLAN TO ENSURE THAT RENTERS WILL RECEIVE THEIR REBATE, RATHER? LIKE, IS IS THE PLAN THAT IT'S GOING TO GO TO THE LANDLORD? THEY DISPERSE THE REBATE? WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR RENTERS WHO HAVE, UM, THEIR UTILITIES INCLUDED IN THEIR RENT AS IT FLUCTUATES? YEAH.
SO, UM, WHOEVER IS THE CUSTOMER OF RECORD WILL, WILL GET THE CREDIT.
SO IF IT'S ALL BILLS PAID, THE LANDLORD WILL GET THE CREDIT.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IF, IF THE, IF THEY PAY THEIR BILL AND THEY'LL GET THE CREDIT.
AND THAT GIVES ME CONCERN, RIGHT? THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR RENTERS WHO ARE PAYING THEIR ALL BILLS PAID RENT AS THE UTILITY FLUCTUATE MAY NOT RECEIVE, UM, THAT REBATE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR LANDLORDS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO IDENTIFY, TO CALCULATE HOW MUCH EACH UNIT'S GOING TO GET.
AND I JUST WANNA ENSURE THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW AS A MAJORITY RENTER CITY, THAT WE'RE KEEPING IN MIND, UH, HOW OUR, OUR RENTERS WHO ALSO PAY UTILITIES ARE GOING TO RECEIVE THEIR REBATE AND THEIR SUPPORT.
UM, AND I'M CONCERNED, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MAY OPEN US UP TO POTENTIAL LAWSUITS, RIGHT? IF SOME RENTERS DON'T RECEIVE THEIR REBATE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME REASON, RIGHT, THE LANDLORD DOESN'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ACCURATELY CALCULATE PER UNIT AND GET THAT MONEY BACK TO THE TENANT.
DOES THAT PUT US IN A VULNERABLE POSITION? UH, I CAN ANSWER THAT COUNCILWOMAN.
I, I, MY SENSE IS NO, BUT IF WE WANNA GET INTO MORE DETAIL, WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT IN EXED.
BUT ESSENTIALLY, I I, I, I DON'T GET THE SENSE IT'LL INVOLVE A LOT OF RISK FOR THE CITY.
AND I, I JUST WANT IT TO BE ON THE RECORD THAT I WASN'T, UH, ADDRESSED ABOUT THIS REBATE PRIOR TO READING ABOUT IT IN THE EXPRESS NEWS.
SO, UM, JUST THAT IT WASN'T US A CONVERSATION HAD WITH EVERY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.
I THINK AT THE ROOT OF MY, UM, CONCERN IS THAT
[02:00:01]
AS WE THINK ABOUT THE WAY THAT THE CITY FUNCTIONS, A FEW YEARS AGO, WE MADE A COMMITMENT TO EQUITY.AND IF WE WERE TO APPLY A LENS OF EQUITY TO EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, INCLUDING THIS, WOULD WE RIGHT NOW BE DOING THE, THE REBATE IN THIS WAY? AND I DON'T THINK THE ANSWER IS YES.
AND I KNOW THAT FOLK HAVE MENTIONED SURVEYS.
THEY'VE MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR BUDGET MEETINGS, THEY'VE MENTIONED THESE THINGS AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE THING TO GO TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO GO ON NEXT DOOR OR TO GO TO AN H O A MEETING.
BUT I'VE BEEN KNOCKING ON DOORS IN SUNRISE AND GOVERNMENT HILL AND IN LAKESIDE, AND I'VE BEEN TALKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE AND THEY ARE NOT ON NEXTDOOR.
AND SO WHEN WE HAVE, WHEN WE'RE GOING TO THEIR HOUSES, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO APPLY FOR THE HOME REHAB PROGRAMS SENSE.
WE GET THOSE CALLS OF DISAPPOINTMENT, OUR OFFICES, WE GET THOSE CALLS OF DISAPPOINTMENT WHEN THE MONEY IS NO LONGER THERE.
AND WHEN WE HAVE TO TELL THEM, OH, YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT CYCLE.
AND SO IF WE'RE KNOCKING ON DOORS, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE REBATE, BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS.
IF, IF THEY'RE GIVEN THE OP OPPORTUNITY TO EITHER, UM, YOU KNOW, INCREASE, INCREASE THE CHANCE THAT ONE OF THEIR NEIGHBORS OR THEMSELVES AND THEIR OWN HOME MIGHT BE REHABBED OR MIGHT BE WEATHERIZED, THEY WOULD JUMP AT THAT RATHER THAN TAKE 10 OR $15.
'CAUSE MOST OF MY RESIDENTS ARE NOT LOOKING AT $30.
MOST OF THE ONES WHO ARE MOST AT NEED ARE LOOKING AT AN $8 REBATE.
AND I AM GOING TO BE, WE ARE GOING TO BE GETTING THE CALLS WHEN PEOPLE THINK, WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THAT REBATE AND THEY SAY, I GOT $8 BACK.
WHAT IS THIS? OR, I GOT $10 BACK, BUT I STILL, I STILL HAVE TO PAY THE REST OF MY BILL.
THAT'S THE CONCERN THAT I HAVE HERE.
UM, AND I'M INTERESTED IN COUNCILMAN VIA GRANT'S SUGGESTION OF MAYBE WE WAIT AND WE HAVE A GREATER DISCUSSION.
'CAUSE I'M INTERESTED WHAT HAPPENS, THIS IS A HYPOTHETICAL, WHAT HAPPENS IF SIX PEOPLE UP HERE ARE NOT SIX COUNCIL MEMBERS, ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF A REBATE, BUT WE'RE NOT YET SUPPORTIVE OF ANY OTHER OPTION THAT'S BEEN GIVEN? DO WE, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE MONEY AT THAT POINT? WELL, IT JUST STAYS WHERE IT'S AT.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S THE, UM, I THINK THAT WAS THE, THE QUESTION WE GOT EARLIER.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF THAT MONEY WE'VE COLLECTED, WE'LL COLLECT THE REST OF IT, UM, WITH THE FINAL TWO PAYMENTS IN THE FISCAL YEAR, AND IT'LL JUST STAY THERE IN OUR ACCOUNT.
WE, IT'S, IT'S, WE HAVE IT, WE DON'T PROGRAM IT.
SO FOR ME, THE, UM, A COMPROMISE OF SOURCE, RIGHT, WAS, 'CAUSE I'M NOT FOR THE, I'M NOT FOR THE REBATE.
THE COMPROMISE FOR ME WASN'T OPTING OUT.
IF WE CAN FIND A WAY TO MY, IF WE CAN BE CREATIVE AND PUT OUR BRAINS TOGETHER AND GET PAST ALL THE LOOPHOLES THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED, IF WE CAN DO AN OPT-IN, COOL.
IF WE CAN'T DO THAT, YOU DON'T HAVE, LIKE, THAT DOES NOT HAVE MY SUPPORT.
FURTHER COMPROMISE MIGHT BE, LET'S CON LET'S CONTINUE DISCUSSING THE BUDGET.
LET'S DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO ON THURSDAY, AND THEN CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS MONEY IN THE FUTURE? AND SO I THINK I'VE HEARD A FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE SAID THAT, AND I, THAT'S WHERE I'M LEANING AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, I'LL JUST WRAP ON THIS ITEM SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
IS THERE A PRESENTATION? I DON'T SEE YOU IN THE QUEUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN RUN ALL KINDS OF UNSCIENTIFIC POLLS AND GET ALL KINDS OF RESULTS.
AND, UH, ONE THING IS FOR SURE THOUGH IS THAT IF YOU, EVEN IF IT'S A GOOFY ONLINE, YOU KNOW, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA POLL, WHAT YOU TELL THE INDIVIDUAL IS GONNA CHANGE WHAT CAN, CAN REALLY INFLUENCE WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THE POLL IS GONNA BE.
SO IF YOU TELL SOMEBODY, HEY, HOW DO YOU, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE US FOR US TO GIVE YOU $26 BACK OR $26 OFF YOUR NEXT C P S ENERGY BILL? A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GONNA SAY YES, BUT WHAT IF YOU TELL 'EM, HEY, YOUR JULY BILL WENT UP, OR YOUR, UH, WENT UP BY 43% AND WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT OF 13%.
THEN THOSE, THOSE POLL RESULTS ARE GONNA START TO CHANGE A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN IF YOU TELL THEM THAT YOU'RE GONNA GET $26, BUT DOZENS OF COMPANIES ARE GONNA GET HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND ONE UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS, YOU ARE REALLY GONNA SEE THOSE POLL RESULTS FLIP IN A HURRY.
I KNOW THAT BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TALKING TO MY CONSTITUENTS.
AND SO WHAT YOU SHARE WITH THEM IS GREATLY GONNA INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF THAT POLL.
[02:05:01]
ABOUT A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY HERE, AND THAT IS OUR PREDECESSORS.AND SOME OF YOU, UM, IN JUNE OF 2017, PASSED A RESOLUTION TO MEET THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT GOALS.
AND THEN A COMMITMENT WAS MADE TO PASS A CLIMATE PLAN OR PUT FORWARD A, A DRAFT TO DEVELOP A DRAFT OF A CLIMATE PLAN.
AND WE WERE TOLD IT WOULD TAKE 18 MONTHS, AND IT DIDN'T TAKE 18 MONTHS, IT TOOK 28 MONTHS, AND THEN IT WAS PASSED.
AND THEN, UH, THERE WAS A NEED FOR AN IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE.
AND IT TOOK ANOTHER 12 MONTHS TO SEAT THAT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE.
AND WE HAVE YET TO REALLY DO THE WORK.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT CLIMATE WORK, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF PLANNING ABOUT CLIMATE WORK, BUT WE HAVEN'T PUT RESOURCES BEHIND IT, AND WE HAVE NOT BE REALLY BEGUN TO DO THE WORK TO IMPLEMENT IT.
AND IT IS OUR CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER HERE.
'CAUSE THE NAME OF OUR CLIMATE PLAN IS SA CLIMATE READY.
AND WHEN YOU HEARD ME TALK BEFORE, YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE NOT READY WITHOUT A DOUBT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I MIGHT PROPOSE THAT WE CHANGE OUR CLIMATE PLAN TO NOWHERE NEAR READY, AND WE HAVEN'T PUT THE RESOURCES BEHIND IT.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THE MAYOR HAS SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T JUST THROW MONEY AT THIS PROBLEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I ALSO HEARD THAT, HEY, THERE'S NOT A BUSINESS PLAN FOR THIS PROPOSAL.
WELL, COUNCIL'S JOB IS NOT TO PUT TOGETHER A BUSINESS PLAN.
COUNCIL'S JOB IS TO GIVE POLICY DIRECTION.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN PUT ON THE TABLE, RIGHT? AND IF WE NEED TO TAKE TIME FOR STAFF TO PUT TOGETHER A BUSINESS PROPO PLAN, THAT'S FINE.
BUT WE NEED TO GET MOVING, RIGHT? AND COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL HAS PUT TOGETHER A GOOD PLAN, YOU KNOW, AND COUNCIL, UH, OUR MAYOR HAS SAID, HEY, WE'RE RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST DEBATING ONE POINT A HALF PERCENT OF THE BUDGET.
WELL, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A VERY THOUGHTFUL PLAN THAT COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL PUT TOGETHER FOR USING A DIFFERENT, UH, UH, SOURCE OF FUNDING.
UM, BUT THAT IS 0.3% OF OUR CITY'S BUDGET, RIGHT? AND SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, WITH THIS ADDITIONAL 50 MILLION, WE COULD GO FROM 0.3% OF THIS BUDGET FOR THIS KIND OF WORK TO 1.8% OF THE BUDGET FOR THIS KIND OF WORK, RIGHT? AND THEN WE CAN TAKE THAT FUNDING AND INSTEAD OF LEAVING FUNDING ON THE TABLE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WE CAN GO AND APPLY FOR COMPETITIVE GRANTS AND GET MATCHING FUNDS.
AND WE CAN TAKE IT FROM 1.8% OF OUR BUDGET TO 3.6% OF OUR BUDGET.
AND NOW WE CAN REALLY START TO MOVE THE NEEDLE ON THIS WORK, WHICH WE HAVEN'T DONE FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
AND I'M OKAY WITH US TAKING TIME TO GET IT ALL RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THIS WAS SPRUNG ON ALL OF US AT THE LAST MINUTE.
AND SO THERE WASN'T A LOT OF TIME TO PUT DEEP THOUGHT INTO HOW EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE DONE.
UM, AND I THINK THINGS CAN BE REFINED, AND I'VE BEEN GETTING REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK FROM MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UH, A VARIETY OF INPUT ON HOW WE CAN DO THINGS BETTER.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAKE THAT TIME TO GO BACK AND LEAVE THIS 50 MILLION IN THE BANK ACCOUNT RIGHT NOW, AND, UH, WORK ON SOME REFINEMENTS, WORK ON A REALISTIC TIMELINE, UH, WORK ON HOW CAN WE DEPLOY THIS EFFICIENTLY AND RAMP UP.
UM, I WOULD WELCOME THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UH, LET ME WRAP UP THIS, AND DO WE HAVE TIME TO GET IN DISCUSSION ON AMENDMENTS? ERIC, IS THERE A PRESENTATION? THERE'S NO PRESENTATION.
OKAY, SO WE'LL GO RIGHT INTO THE NEXT ROUND.
I CAN ORIENT, UH, EVERYBODY TO THE PACKET THAT WE HANDED OUT.
LET ME JUST MAKE SOME, A FEW COMMENTS AND I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU TO GET US STARTED ON THE NEXT CON CONVERSATION.
NUMBER ONE, UH, WE NEED TO HAVE A POLICY DISCUSSION GOING FORWARD THAT'S VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT, UH, WE SHOULD BE DOING AS A BODY MOVING FORWARD, IF THERE IS THIS KIND OF WINDFALL AS A RESULT OF A NUMER NUMBER OF FACTORS.
UM, TWO THINGS I I HAVE ISSUE WITH.
NUMBER ONE, THE 42 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IS NOT A PANACEA FOR CLIMATE ISSUES.
WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING IS CHANGING THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS IF WE'RE INTERESTED IN SOLVING CLIMATE ISSUES GOING FORWARD, WHICH IS WHY I, I BELIEVE, STRONGLY IN, UH, CREATING THE PERMANENT SOURCE OF REVENUE THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED IN, IN THAT AMENDMENT.
THE OTHER ISSUE IS THAT THE SA CLIMATE READY PLAN SHOULD IMPACT EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THIS, IN THIS CITY.
UH, IT IS A WAY WE ARE CHANGING AND REORIENTING OURSELVES TO RESILIENCE, SO IT'S GONNA IMPACT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.
UM, THE, THE SECOND PART OF THAT IS THAT MEANWHILE, WE DON'T CREATE A PLAN TO USE MONEY JUST BECAUSE WE'VE GOT THE MONEY.
WE DO KNOW THAT FOLKS HAVE BEEN HURTING AS A RESULT OF THE HIGH ENERGY COSTS.
AND WITH THE OPT OUT, IT GIVES FOLKS AN OP OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THAT REBATE.
AND IN THE EVENT THEY DON'T NEED IT, THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY
[02:10:01]
TO OPT OUT.I BELIEVE, UH, ERIC, YOU AND YOUR STAFF HAVE STRUCK THE RIGHT BALANCE WITH THAT, I PLAN TO SUPPORT IT.
UH, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD DISCUSSION AND, UH, NOW WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE DISCUSSION OF THE AMENDMENTS.
UM, SO WE'VE HANDED OUT A PAD GRAY FOLDER THAT HAS, UM, AT LEAST, UM, A COPY OF ALL THE, UM, COUNCIL MEMOS WE'VE RECEIVED AS OF ONE 30 TODAY.
UM, YOU'LL SEE ATTACHED ALSO A, UM, A LIST OF REQUESTED AMENDMENTS, UM, OVER THE FOLLOWING THREE PAGES.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE BROKEN OUT BOTH THE F Y 23 BUDGET IMPACT AS WELL AS THE F Y 24 IMPACT.
UM, I SHARED WITH YOU BY EMAIL ON SATURDAY MORNING THAT WE WERE EVALUATING OUR REVENUES, UM, AND, UM, AT THE TIME, I THINK ON SATURDAY, I SAID APPROXIMATELY 5 MILLION THAT WORK, UH, WAS COMPLETED OVER THE WEEKEND.
AND WE HAVE $5.6 MILLION IN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, FOR POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS OVER THE TWO YEARS.
UM, THERE ARE, UM, I WON'T, THERE ARE TWO DISTRICTS THAT ARE NOT ON THIS LIST THAT WE DID NOT GET MEMOS ON.
WE WILL UPDATE THIS LIST IN ADVANCE OF TOMORROW'S CONVERSATION, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU AND PROVIDE IT PUBLICLY, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GET SOME, UM, UH, LEG ROOM DONE IN ADVANCE OF TOMORROW'S CONVERSATION.
THE TOTAL OF THE, OVER THE TWO YEARS OF THESE AMENDMENTS IS $47.8 MILLION.
UM, WE'VE DENOTED ON THERE WHERE WE HEARD FROM MULTIPLE DISTRICTS, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT, UM, THE ORIGINATING DISTRICT ON THE, UM, ON THE SHEET.
UM, TOMORROW'S WORK SESSION IS ALL ABOUT AMENDMENTS.
SO WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TODAY IS IF THERE ARE SOME, UM, INITIAL PRIORITIES FROM THE INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE CAN FURTHER REFINE THIS LIST SO THAT YOU SEE THAT COMPILED, UH, FOR TOMORROW'S MEETING.
I WANTED TO GIVE YOU WHAT WE HAD.
UH, LET ME GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA FIRST, AND THEN WE WILL RESUME THE REST OF OUR DISCUSSION.
AND, UH, THANK YOU, ERIC FOR, FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THAT SPREADSHEET.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST DISCUSS IN GENERAL MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AMENDMENTS.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG WE'RE GOING TODAY, BUT I HAVE TO BE OUT.
SO THANK YOU MAYOR, FOR ALLOWING ME TO, TO GO FIRST.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN DISCUSSING AND MY ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER COUNTERPARTS HAVE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THIS SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
ORIGINALLY, WE HAD PROJECTED TO FUND IT THROUGH ARPA, BUT, UM, I CONVINCED MY COLLEAGUES TO MOVE OVER SOME ADDITIONAL MONEY AND ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
AND SO WITH THAT SAID, I ASKED FOR US TO CONTINUE FUNDING THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM THROUGH OUR GENERAL BUDGET.
UM, MARCH 22ND, APRIL 26TH, MAY 24TH, JUNE 10TH, JUNE 15TH, JUNE 24TH.
AND AGAIN, I BROUGHT IT UP LAST WEEK, UM, WHEN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION HAPPENED AT BUDGET.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE A DUTY AS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO FUND THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
SO ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT I HAVE ON THERE IS AN AMENDMENT FOR $500,000 TO GO TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, SPECIFICALLY TO UNDERTAKE THE WORK THAT, UM, THE, THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN, IN THE PLAN THAT WAS PRESENTED, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR TO THE E W D C.
THE SECOND ONE ALSO RELATED TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND.
AND SO FOR THAT, UM, I ASKED MY COLLEAGUES FOR SUPPORT PUBLICLY OR AT THIS SESSION LAST WEEK, BUT AGAIN, I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS SEVERAL TIMES AT, UM, THE SMALL, OR AT THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND AT THE MEETINGS AT COUNCILMAN PELAS AND I HAVE BEEN ATTENDING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, UM, AND THEY'RE IN NEED OF HELP.
IT'S A CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND.
IT WOULD BE, UH, TO FOCUS IN ON AN IMPACT STUDY, CONSTRUCTION IMPACT STUDY, AND POSSIBLY SOME GRANT FUNDING FOR PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE DISPLAYED.
EVEN THINGS AS EASY AS SIGNS, LET'S SAY WE'RE STILL OPEN.
I SAW SOME REALLY GOOD SIGNAGE DOWN COMMERCE, I HAVE NO IDEA WHO PUT IT THERE, BUT THEY'RE ON TOP OF THE ORANGE BARRELS AND IT SAYS, WE'RE STILL OPEN, HIGH, MISS PLACE IS STILL OPEN, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS A GOOD START, AT LEAST AS WE START THINKING ABOUT, UH, CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT.
THE OTHER ITEM THAT I ASKED FOR WAS FOR CONSIDERATION FOR $250,000 TO SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST CORPUS AS A CONTRIBUTION.
WE HAVE NOT CONTRIBUTED AS A CITY SINCE 1988.
THAT WAS OUR ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION.
NOTHING HAS BEEN CONTRIBUTED SINCE THEN.
AND I THINK THAT IT'S, UM, IN IT'S CRITICAL TO INVEST IN THE WORK OF THE SERVICES OF THE TRUST.
I HAVE ASKED OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON FAMILIES AND PRIORITIZING HOUSING FAMILIES.
WE HAVE 7,448 CHILDREN RIGHT NOW WHO ARE ENROLLED IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT ARE HOUSELESS, A E CENTRAL I S
[02:15:01]
D HAS 195 EDGEWOOD, I S D 383 HARLANDALE, I S D 368 JUDSON, I S D 514 NORTHEAST I S D 970 NORTHSIDE, I S D 1,160 SAN ANTONIO, I S D 2,468, SOMERSET 37 SOUTH END, 98 SOUTH SIDE 145 SOUTHWEST 464.THOSE ARE JUST THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT I, I KNOW THAT WE TOUCHED.
THERE'S ALSO, UM, AN ENTIRE LIST THAT I ASKED FOR FROM MCKINNEY-VENTO, SPECIFICALLY ON THE STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT HOUSED.
AND SO WE NEED TO START PRIORITIZING OUR HOUSELESS, UM, FAMILIES.
AND, UH, YOU ALL HEARD ME MENTION THAT I WENT TO HAVEN FOR HOPE AND THERE'S FAMILY SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR.
WE'RE TRYING TO DO A MAT DRIVE.
WE'RE TRYING TO DO DIAPER DRIVE FORMULA DRIVE.
WE'RE TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN, BUT I THINK THAT THE HOUSING TRUST, UM, CAN ALSO HELP US WITH, WITH THEIR LITTLE BIT OF, UH, OF, YOU KNOW, A PART, A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE INVEST IN THIS.
AND I'M ASKING MY COLLEAGUES, I WANTED TO READ YOU ALL THE NUMBERS BY SCHOOL DISTRICT BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE DON'T SEE HOW MUCH OF, UM, A PRIORITY IT IS RIGHT NOW.
SO I WANTED YOU TO REALIZE HOW MANY HOUSELESS CHILDREN YOU HAVE, UH, THAT ARE ENROLLED IN SCHOOL.
AND THEN THERE'S KIDS THAT AREN'T EVEN OF SCHOOL AGE.
SO, UM, SO THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME THERE.
AND THEN THE FINAL ONE, IT'S, UM, IT'S, IT'S A DISTRICT FOUR SPECIFIC REQUEST, AND IT WOULD BE FOR A SOLAR WALK AT PIER SALT PARK.
WE HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT, UH, THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
AND IN PARTICULAR, WE HAVE TWO ECLIPSES THAT ARE COMING UP.
AND SO AS A BOARD MEMBER OF VISIT SAN ANTONIO, THIS IS GONNA BE, UH, YES, ABSOLUTELY A, A TOURIST DRIVE, EVENTUALLY THE ECLIPSE AND BRINGING PEOPLE TO SAN ANTONIO.
HOWEVER, THE SOLAR WALK AT PEA SALT PARK IS GONNA BE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FOR INVESTING SPECIFICALLY IN SCIENCE RELATED, UM, UH, PRACTICES, UH, OUTDOORS SPECIFICALLY.
AND SO THAT IS, UM, THE MINOR REQUEST FOR DISTRICT FOUR.
THE OTHER ONES ARE ALL CITYWIDE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
EARLIER WHEN I EMBARRASSINGLY END ENDED MY COMMENTS WITH BYE, UM,
SO I'LL, I'LL START WITH THAT ONE.
UM, SO, UM, AS WAS STATED EARLIER, UH, WE'VE HAD A REALLY HOT SUMMER AND REALLY, I WOULD SAY IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, IF YOU LOOK AT DROUGHT, UH, FLOODING, WE'VE PREVIEWED A FUTURE WHERE WE'VE ACTUALLY LOST THE BATTLE ON CLIMATE CHANGE.
THAT WAS JUST A PREVIEW, WHAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
UM, SO WHAT I'M PROPOSING IS THAT WE ESTABLISH A PERMANENT DEDICATED FUND FOR RESILIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
AND I'M PROPOSING THAT WE FUND IT FROM OUR WEBEX VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW WEBEX COM, WHO IS ON, UM,
UM, I'M PROPOSING THAT WE ESTABLISH A PERMANENT DEDICATED FUND FOR RESILIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY, REDIRECTING A PORTION OF THE CITY'S ANNUAL C P S REVENUE GOING FORWARD, UM, AND THE PORTION OF A REVENUE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STEP, SAY FOR TOMORROW, ENERGY PLAN SURCHARGE.
SO WHEN THAT WAS ADOPTED BY COUNSEL IN, UH, JUNE, UM, IT WAS DISCUSSED THAT IT WOULD BE AN APPROXIMATELY THREE, $3 50 CENTS SURCHARGE ON EVERYBODY'S BILL.
UM, C P S CAN COLLECTS APPROXIMATELY $70 MILLION EACH YEAR IN STEP REVENUE, UH, USE.
C P S USES THESE RESOURCES TO IMPLEMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, THE CITY'S SHARE OF THAT STEP SURCHARGE IS ESTIMATED AT ABOUT NINE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THE STEP, THE LIFE OF THE CURRENT STEP PRO OF THE NEXT STEP PROGRAM WILL BE FIVE YEARS.
SO I'M RECOMMENDING THAT WE TAKE THAT SPECIFIC AMOUNT, THE 9.5 MILLION, AND INVEST THAT FUND IN SEVERAL KEY CRITICAL AREAS TO PROTECT SAN ANTONIO'S CLIMATE AND TO PROTECT OUR PEOPLE.
UM, THE FIRST AREA WOULD BE WHAT'S KNOWN AS URBAN HEAT ISLANDS.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO COOL OUR URBAN AREAS THAT CAN BE UP TO 20 DEGREES HOTTER THAN UNDEVELOPED AREAS DUE TO THE ASPHALT SERVICES AND, UM, LESS TREE COVER.
UH, AND THAT WOULD, BUT ALSO CHANGING OUT SURFACE MATERIAL SO THAT IT IS MORE REFLECTIVE AND WE'D BE ABLE TO BRING DOWN TEMPERATURES BY AS MUCH AS NINE DEGREES IF EVERYTHING IS, UM, DONE TOP NOTCH.
[02:20:01]
UH, I ADMIT THAT WE CANNOT, AS A CITY, TAKE ON CLIMATE CHANGE ALONE.SO I'M ALSO SUGGESTING THAT WE PARTNER WITH LOCAL NONPROFITS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, UM, AND OFFER THEM SMALL GRANTS, UH, TO SUPPORT CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCY PROJECTS.
SO THE, THESE COULD BE EDUCATION PROJECTS.
THINK ABOUT THE NONPROFITS IN EACH OF YOUR DISTRICTS THAT MIGHT WANNA BE, THAT MIGHT WANT TO APPLY FOR, FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
I THINK IT HAS THE POTENTIAL, SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SPARK INTEREST IN ACTION THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
AT ONE OF MY PREVIOUS JOBS, THIS, THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE DID TO CREATE ACTION AROUND CLIMATE AND GET PEOPLE INVOLVED.
UM, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, LOCAL BUSINESSES HAVE OFTEN COME TO US ASKING US NOT TO PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T REGULATE US.
UM, BUT I CONSIDER MY JOB AS, AS A LEGISLATOR IN PART, A REGULATOR IN PART.
SO, UH, BUT I DO WANNA SET ASIDE SOME MONEY FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL BUSINESSES AND POTENTIALLY, UH, INCENTIVES.
I THINK WE HAVE A BIG OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PACE PROGRAM THAT WE ADOPTED IN 2020, WHICH GIVES OWNERS OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ACCESS TO LOW COST, INTEREST FREE LOANS, UH, TO MAKE ENERGY EFFICIENT UPGRADES THAT WILL SAVE THEM MONEY.
UM, NOT EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE PACE PROGRAM, AND IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT ADMINISTRATIVE.
SO THIS WOULD, THIS WOULD HELP WITH THAT.
AND THE LAST CATEGORY THAT I PROPOSED IN THIS AMENDMENT IS, UH, TO MAKE US MORE COMPETITIVE IN SEEKING ADDITIONAL FUNDING, ESPECIALLY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO WE KNOW THAT THE I R A, UH, SET ASIDE $369 BILLION TO ENERGY AND MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO THIS ALLOWS US TO, UM, HOPEFULLY HIRE ONE OR MORE PEOPLE TO, UM, TO WORK WITH SALLY TO GO TO DC OUR CONSULTANTS, UH, TO WRITE GRANTS, UH, TO MAKE US MORE COMPETITIVE AND BE BE READY TO BRING HOME, UM, FEDERAL DOLLARS, WHICH ARE OUR TAXPAYERS DOLLARS TO BENEFIT OUR OWN ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY.
UM, SO, UH, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE PROPOSAL.
I DO HOPE THAT COUNCIL, UH, MEMBERS WILL CONSIDER SUPPORTING THAT.
I WOULD ALSO PROPOSE THAT, UH, WE COME BACK IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS WITH A MORE ESTABLISHED FRAMEWORK AND TIMELINE.
AND THAT IN THAT TIME, WE ALSO, THAT TIME WE ALSO SEEK, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT, UH, TO ENSURE THAT, THAT WE'RE SHAPING THIS IN A WAY THAT'S GONNA WORK FOR, FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
MY, I HAVE UNLIMITED TIME RIGHT NOW, SO I'M GONNA KEEP GOING.
UH, MY OTHER BIG ASK IS CONTAINED IN THE MEMO YOU RECEIVED.
UH, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUALLY WORK ON IMPROVING OUR VOTER TURNOUT.
I KNOW THAT'S A SENSITIVE TOPIC, AND, AND WE DO KNOW THAT THE STATE HAS TAKEN ACTIONS, UM, THAT MAY REDUCE OUR VOTER TURNOUT.
AND I WANT TO ENCOURAGE US TO, UM, TO ENCOURAGE VOTER TURNOUT BY EDUCATING PEOPLE THE, THE LOW TURNOUT MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IS, UH, RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THAT'S REALLY BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST AREN'T AWARE THAT SOMETHING'S HAPPENING.
SO, I'D, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE SENDING OUT A MAILER TO HOUSEHOLDS IN SAN ANTONIO.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
UM, SO I ALREADY EARLIER MENTIONED THE M L K, THE REQUEST FOR M L K FUNDING.
UM, HOPEFULLY THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN HAVE SUPPORT.
UM, THERE'S SOMETHING NEW THAT I, I'VE GOTTEN TO SPEAK TO A COUPLE OF YOU, UM, ABOUT, AND SORT OF SHOP THE IDEA AS COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL HAD MENTIONED.
AND ONE WAS, UM, IT WAS SPURRED BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING AT ONE OF THE MEMOS THAT JUSTINA HAD SENT THAT LISTED THE VACANCIES.
AND CURRENTLY THERE'S 90 VACANCIES AT METRO HEALTH.
AND IF EACH ONE OF THOSE WAS VACANT FOR TWO WEEKS, THAT'S ABOUT, THAT'S A LITTLE OVER THREE YEARS WORTH OF WORK THAT IS VACANT.
UM, AND SO WHAT I AM ENVISIONING WOULD BE ALMOST A COMPROMISE, ALMOST A ALMOST GETTING INTO MY IDEA OF CRIME AND RECIDIVISM PREVENTION.
SO TURNING TWO OF THESE VACANCIES, JUST TWO OUT OF THE 90 VACANCIES OR TWO POSITIONS, UM, TO SERVE AS AN INNER DEPARTMENTAL, UM, LIAISON ADVISOR AND PROJECT MANAGER TO DETERMINE HOW DEPARTMENTS CAN COORDINATE EXISTING AND FUTURE PROGRAMS TO PREVENT ALL LEVELS OF CRIME AND RECIDIVISM.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WANNA NOTE THAT WITH THE U T S A CRIME STUDY SOON TO BE COMPLETED, THIS POSITION COULD GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS TO INCLUDE MONITORING OF MEASURABLE OUTCOMES AND METRICS TO GAUGE, UH, GAUGE, UH, PROGRESS.
AND FURTHER, THIS POSITION WILL SEEK AND MANAGE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT OR COULD SUPPORT THOSE STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE ALREADY DOING THAT.
UM, AND SO THAT WAS A $0 BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SUPPORT FROM MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE ON.
WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS WORKING WITH ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND HELPING THEM IDENTIFY OR, UM, USE A LENS OF CRIME PREVENTION
[02:25:01]
IN THEIR EFFORTS.AND SO THAT WOULD BE A START TO SOME OF THE TREMENDOUS WORK THAT I THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE, BUT HAS YET TO BE DONE.
UM, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE INCREASED, UM, CITY COUNCIL STAFF CAPACITY TO A NINE FTES.
AND THEN MY LAST REC, OR ONE OF MY OTHER REQUESTS THAT WAS AN INDIVIDUAL ONE, WAS THE WHEATLEY HEIGHTS SPORTS COMPLEX.
SO THIS FACIL A FACILITY THAT WE HAVE THAT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF BONDS, OR THIS BOND IN THE PREVIOUS ONE.
AND THEY ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH, UH, SPORTS FOLK BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE LOCKER ROOMS FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
AND THEY'RE ONLY NOW STARTING TO GET THAT.
UM, THEY'VE ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, WERE JUST NOT ABLE TO HAVE THE REVENUE THAT THEY NEED.
AND SO WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR IS $75,000 TO RESOLVE EXISTING FINANCIAL SHORTFALLS.
UM, ES ESPECIALLY AS THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LOCKER ROOMS AND OTHER BOND COMMITMENTS WILL BE COMPLETED NEXT YEAR.
UM, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE BIG ASK.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIND SOME WAY TO GET THAT IN THERE.
THERE I AM WORKING WITH THEM TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL DONORS AND TO CREATE A PLAN, AND THEY WILL, UH, PRESENT THAT TO CITY MANAGER FAIRLY SOON.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, HEARING MORE FROM Y'ALL.
THEN HOPEFULLY THE NEXT ROUND I CAN SHARE, YOU KNOW, WHICH THINGS I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
COUNCILS MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, COUNCILS MEMBER KEO HDI.
UM, COLLEAGUES, I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST YOUR SUPPORT FROM MY BUDGET AMENDMENT TO BENEFIT THE SENIORS IN THE EDGEWOOD COMMUNITY.
THERE'S A, WE HAVE A DONNER PARKS HEADQUARTERS THERE, AND SENIORS, UH, IN THAT AREA HAVE LONG ASKED FOR A SENIOR CENTER.
THE NEAREST TO THEM, UH, ARE IN, IN MY DISTRICT ARE LOPEZ, AND I BELIEVE IN FIVE, I THINK IT'S NORM OIL MIGHT BE, UM, THE NEXT CLOSEST.
AND THEY HAVE TROUBLE A LOT OF TIMES WITH TRANSPORTATION.
UM, AND THERE'S, UH, NOT EASY ACCESS TO SOME OF THE OTHER SENIOR CENTERS.
SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE PROGRAMMING AT THE DONNER CENTER.
UH, AND HOPEFULLY THAT COULD BE THE FIRST STEP TO A, A PERMANENT SENIOR CENTER DOWN THE LINE.
BUT, UM, IF YOU ALL WOULD CONSIDER THAT IT'S MY ONLY BUDGET AMENDMENT.
UH, I ALSO EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR, UM, THE MOCKERY FUNDING, UH, TO THE $250,000.
UM, THE M L K COMMISSION'S BUDGET TO TWO 300, WELL, THE EXTRA 200,000.
UM, Y'ALL OF COURSE KNOW I SUPPORT CASA IN THEIR EFFORT TO HELP FOSTER YOU.
SO I SUPPORT THE REQUEST FOR, UM, THEIR BUDGET, THEIR, UH, BUILDING RENOVATIONS AND, UM, AND THEN REASSIGNING THE TWO VACANT METRO HEALTH POSITIONS, UM, TO THE CRIME PREVENTION, UM, OFFICE OR, YEAH.
UM, I ALSO, UH, SUPPORT THE INCREASE TO NINE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
I SUPPORT, UH, THE LIFT FUND, A LOAN INTEREST BUY DOWN PROGRAM FOR TWO FROM 250 TO 500,000, AND THE REDIRECTION OF THE CODE OFFICERS AND, UH, AND THEN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A RE RESILIENCY, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM.
I ALSO SUPPORT THE HOUSING REHABILITATION BUDGET INCREASE.
IS, UH, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE SIDEWALK REPAIR CREW.
IS THAT SPECIFIC TO ONE DISTRICT, OR WOULD THAT BE, UM, I DUNNO IF THAT'S A QUESTION FOR OR THAT IS THAT CITYWIDE? IT WOULD BE CITYWIDE.
I, I, I ALSO SUPPORT THAT ONE.
WITH THE, THE REQUESTED AMENDMENTS THAT OUR OFFICE HAS PUT FORTH, UM, ONE OF THE PRIMARY CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE IS THAT WE KNOW THAT OPIOID OVERDOSES ACROSS THE NATION ARE ON THE RISE, AND WE KNOW THAT THE STATE HAS DEFUNDED INVESTMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH, UM, PUTTING ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT AT RISK OF NOT BEING FUNDED THIS YEAR.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE FROM FIRE, UM, OR IF MARIA, CAN YOU OR SOME CITY STAFFER THAT CAN WALK US THROUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF THE T TOUR PROGRAM AND MATT AND THE ROLE OF THAT PROGRAM? SURE.
SO THESE ARE A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE, UM, MANAGED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE M I H UNIT.
AND THEY'RE FUNDED THROUGH THE STATE.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND THEY, UM, PROVIDE FOR OVER TIME FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES AS WELL FOR SOME SUPPLIES IN, UH, MEDICATION.
[02:30:01]
AND WHAT BASICALLY WHAT THEY DO IS TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT, UM, ARE SUFFERING AN OPIOID ADDICTION.INSTEAD OF TAKING THEM TO THE HOSPITAL, THEY WILL PROVIDE 'EM WITH SOME NARCAN AT THE FACILITY OR WHEREVER THEY'RE RECITING AND, UH, AND PROVIDE A CONTINUOUS ASSISTANCE, UM, TO MAKE ENSURE THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE GETTING THE HELP THAT THEY NEED.
AND THIS IS ONE OF OUR, UM, TOP PRIORITIES IN ENSURING THAT WE IDENTIFY FUNDING BECAUSE THIS PROGRAM STAYS LIVES.
SO I WANT TO THANK, UH, THE CITY FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING THIS ON.
UH, BUT MY HOPE IS THAT WE IDENTIFY FUNDING TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO CONNECT OUR, UH, RESIDENTS TO SERVICES AND MUCH NEEDED HEALTHCARE.
UM, OUR SECOND AMENDMENT REQUEST IS TO INCREASE THE OVERALL HOUSING REHABILITATION BUDGET TO A TOTAL OF, UH, WITH AN INCREASE OF 4 MILLION, RIGHT, WHICH WOULD BE A TOTAL OF 30 MILLION.
AND AS I'VE MENTIONED DURING OUR HOUSING BRIEFING, MOVING IT UP AN ADDITIONAL 4 MILLION WOULD ALLOW US TO STAY ON TRACK WITH MEETING THE STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION GOALS.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, REACHING THOSE GOALS GOING TO TAKE, UH, COALITION VOTING AND MULTIPLE PARTNERSHIPS, HOWEVER, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE THE 4 MILLION KEEPS US ON TRACK TO REACH THOSE SHIP GOALS.
SO THAT IS ONE OF OUR AMENDMENTS.
UH, ANOTHER AMENDMENT IS INCREASING FUNDING FOR THE LIFT FUND TO CREATE A CITY CONSTRUCTION IMPACT GRANT FOR OUR MICRO AND COMMERCIAL BUSINESS.
UM, FOLKS, UM, WE'VE HEARD FROM SMALL BUSINESSES ALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HOW THEY'RE BEING FINANCIALLY IMPACTED BY, UH, BOND PROJECTS THAT ARE TAKING A MUCH LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED, UH, IMPACTING THEIR, THEIR REVENUE, THEIR SERVICE, AND THEIR OVERALL INCOME THAT THEY'RE GENERATING.
AND THERE'S CONCERNS ABOUT FOLKS HAVING TO CLOSE DOWN THEIR BUSINESSES.
I BELIEVE CREATING A FUND THROUGH A PARTNER LIKE THE LIFT FUND, UM, CAN HELP ALLEVIATE SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS AND ENSURE THAT, UH, OUR SMALL BUSINESSES CAN, UH, PAY THEIR UTILITIES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES OR WHATEVER THE CASE OR NEED MAY BE.
UH, I AM SUPPORTIVE OF INCREASING, UM, THE CITY COUNCIL STAFF TO NINE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
UH, I WANNA EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR OUR DISTRICT FIVE CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM.
UH, D FIVE IS A VERY CONSTITUENT SERVICES HEAVY, UH, OFFICE.
UM, AND THERE THERE'S SO MUCH NEED AND I'M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR MY TEAM, UM, GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND ALWAYS AT THE DOORS TO CHECK IN TO SEE WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS MAY NEED OR CONNECT THEM TO.
UM, I'M ALSO SUPPORTIVE OF, UH, THE REQUEST TO INCREASE THE LOAN INTEREST BUYDOWN PROGRAMMING TO HAVE 750,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO A TOTAL OF 1 MILLION, UH, IN THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, NO DOUBT WE'RE, WE KNOW AS A CITY WE'RE EXPERIENCING ECONOMIC INVESTMENT, AND THAT MEANS THAT MANY OF OUR SMALL, UM, FUTURE SMALL MINORITY BUSINESS OWNERS NEED AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS THAT CAPITAL.
SO I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT INCREASE.
UM, MY COLLEAGUE DID A GREAT JOB AT ADVOCATING FOR THE $250,000 CONTRIBUTION TO THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST.
WE HAVEN'T MADE AN INVESTMENT IN OVER 35 YEARS, AND WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN THIS HOUSING CRISIS AND $250,000 WITH THE HOUSING TRUST CAN GO A LONG WAY.
AND THAT THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE THE ASK THAT THEY MATCH THOSE FUNDS.
AND I KNOW, UM, FOLKS WOULD BE AMENDABLE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I HOPE THAT WE CAN PUSH TO ENSURE THAT ONE, WE MEET THOSE SHIP GOES AND WE GET OUR FAMILIES OFF THE STREETS.
UM, I'M ALSO GOING TO SHIFT TO A COUPLE OF THE ITEMS I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
I'M READING THROUGH MY COLLEAGUE'S REQUEST AND IT'S LIKE, I WANNA SUPPORT 'EM ALL, AND IT LOOKS LIKE 47 MILLION.
AND I'M LIKE, IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE DIDN'T HAVE $50 MILLION, RIGHT? THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPEND
SO, SO I WANTED TO EXPRESS, UH, MY SUPPORT FOR THE MAYOR'S PROPOSAL TO, UH, CONVERT TWO OF THE NEW CODE STRIKE TEAM POSITIONS TO INCREASE THE CURRENT MULTI-TENANT INSPECTION TEAM.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE SHOULD TACKLE IMMEDIATELY, AND I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
I'M ALSO SUPPORTIVE OF INCREASING THE FUNDING FOR THE MARTIN LUTHER KING COMMISSION, UM, AS WELL AS A CONTRIBUTION OF 500,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO SUPPORT THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
AND I'LL CHIME BACK IN FOR THE NEXT ONES.
UM, I WOULD LIKE, UH, MY COUNCIL MEMBER'S CONSIDERATION ON, AND I'M GONNA CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE.
SPAY, UH, SPAY NEUTER FACILITY OR MORE FUNDING FOR SPAY AND NEUTERING PROGRAMS WITHIN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR.
UH, SO I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE FUNDING GO TO THAT.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, ARTS FUNDING GET A MILLION DOLLARS FROM, UM, THE GENERAL FUND AND SEE IF WE CAN INCREASE THAT TO, TO HAVE THEM DO THE MANY THINGS THAT WE ASK OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT TO DO.
[02:35:01]
MONEY GIVEN TO CASA FOR THEIR BUILDING RENOVATIONS, UH, AS THEY DO A VERY IMPORTANT SERVICE FOR, UM, FOR THE, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY ACROSS THE CITY.AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, TO START A PILOT PROGRAM WITH THE CHILDREN'S SHELTER IN ADDRESSING YOUTH AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS THAT WOULD, WOULD PROVIDE COUNSELORS.
I AM, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, BUT I, I SEE THAT THERE'S MORE SENIOR ASKS.
I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK ABOUT A WAY TO FUND SENIOR TRANSPORTATION AND SENIOR PROGRAMMING.
SO I'D LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER MY SENIOR ASK.
AND THEN I SUPPORT, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, CAO VARDAS, ASK FOR HER SENIOR PROGRAMMING.
AND I THINK CITYWIDE, WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW WE'RE PROGRAMMING FOR OUR SENIORS.
'CAUSE I BELIEVE I HAVE SOME OTHER MEMBERS ASKING FOR SENIOR SERVICES OR INCREASED SENIOR PROGRAMMING, WHICH COULD BE DONE THROUGH, UM, MELODY IN HER DEPARTMENT OR EXPANDING THE PARKS AND HOW THEY DO PROGRAMMING CITYWIDE, UH, OF THE MULTIPLE.
I SUPPORT THE L G C EMPLOYEE PHONE ALLOWANCE, UM, THE LIFT FUND LOAN INTEREST BUY DOWN, UM, THE, UH, THE FUNDING FOR THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE.
AND THAT'S WHERE, UH, I, I THOUGHT WITH THE MILLION FOR THE ARTS FUNDING THAT COULD HAPPEN TOO.
UM, COUNCILMAN, UH, THE, UM, MARTIN LUTHER KING, UH, INCREASE AND THE INCREASE FOR THE WHEATLEY HEIGHTS SPORTS COMPLEX ALSO.
AND SEE HOW WE CAN HELP THEM UTILIZE THAT FACILITY BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A VERY NICE FACILITY.
UH, WHEN, WHEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED.
I ALSO, UH, AGREE WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES FROM FOUR AND FIVE TO, UH, DO, 'CAUSE SAN ANTONIO NEW HOUSING TRUST IS WILLING TO DO A MATCHING CONTRIBUTION AND DO THAT, UM, INCREASE FOR THEM AND THEN LOOK AT A FOUR AND FIVE KIND OF CO, UM, COMBINATION ON, UH, A CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND.
UM, I THINK THAT WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES, UH, AND I LIKE THE SIDEWALK REPAIR CREW, UH, ALSO.
SO I THINK WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES HERE AND, UM, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF NEED AND WE SEE THAT CITYWIDE.
SO, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING MORE DISCUSSION AND SEE WHAT STAFF BRINGS FORWARD.
UM, JUST IN VERY, VERY QUICKLY, ERIC, IF I KNOW YOU'RE TAKING NOTES AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU MY NOTES AND IF IT, IF IT'S HELPFUL LATER.
UH, I SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM AS, AS DESCRIBED EARLIER, THE CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND THAT WAS COVERED EARLIER, THE LIFT FUND LOAN BUYDOWN PROGRAM.
UH, THAT ONE'S PRETTY IMPORTANT.
THE M L K MARCH, UH, INCREASED FUNDING, THAT ONE IS, THAT ONE'S IMPORTANT TO ME TOO.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN VIA GROUND PROPOSED, UM, UH, A CASA EXPENDITURE.
I'M RECUSING MYSELF FOR REASONS THAT, UH, MY SISTER'S ON THE BOARD.
SO ALL I CAN DO IS THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
UH, AND I WON'T VOTE ON IT 'CAUSE I'M RECUSING, BUT, UM, ALSO, ERIC, YOU KNOW, WE'D MENTIONED EARLIER HOW THE CITY NEEDS SHADED BUS STOPS, UH, AND WE'VE GOT ARTS MONEY AND WE'VE GOT, UM, ARTS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, BOND MONEY FOR PUBLIC ART THERE.
UM, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A PILOT PROGRAM FOR THIS, THIS TIME AROUND, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE THERE.
UM, I DON'T SUPPORT, UH, HIRING AN EXTRA F T E.
UM, AND THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS.
I'M COMING AROUND A LOT QUICKER THAN I'M ANTICIPATING.
UM, I WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK TO THE ITEMS I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
I AM ALSO SUPPORTIVE OF, UH, DISTRICT SIX REQUESTS FOR, UH, FUNDING FOR THE SENIOR CENTER ACTIVITIES AT THE DONNER PARK CENTER.
RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT FOLKS FROM DIFFERENT DISTRICTS USE ALL DIFFERENT SENIOR CENTERS, AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT SOME DISTRICT FIVE SENIORS, UH, RELY ON THAT SENIOR CENTER.
SO I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT AS WELL AS THE INCREASE FOR MOCKERY, UH, SUPPORT, GENERAL FUND SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS DEPARTMENT IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD HOPE TO SEE.
UM, IMPROVING OR FIND IDENTIFYING FUNDING TO CREATE, UH, ART STRUCTURES THAT ARE BUS SHELTERS AS WELL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
UM, AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE PRIMARY ITEMS THAT I SUPPORT, BUT LIKE THIS ENTIRE LIST IS LIKE, GOOD OF EVERYTHING.
I SUPPORT EVERYTHING MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SUPPORTED ON THIS LIST.
UM, IT'S GREAT IDEAS AND I KNOW THEIR CONSTITUENTS ARE DEPENDING ON A LOT OF THESE ASKS.
UM, SO THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS.
[02:40:02]
THANK YOU, SIR.UH, YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, WOW, $47 MILLION.
THAT, OF COURSE, THAT'S OVER TWO, TWO YEARS, 30 MILLION FOR F Y 23.
ERIC, DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF, UH, ESTIMATE ON WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE AVAILABLE? UH, YES SIR.
THAT'S, UM, RIGHT NOW $5.6 MILLION, 5.6 YEARS OVER TWO YEARS.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, OKAY, 5.6.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WAS OVER TWO YEARS.
SO HALF OF THAT FOR NEXT YEAR.
I THINK IT DE IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE, THE, THE COUNCIL'S TALKING ABOUT ONETIME IMPROVEMENTS OR CAPITAL TYPE VERSUS RECURRING IMPROVEMENTS.
SO FOR F Y 23, LET'S SAY THEY WERE ALL ONE-TIME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS UP TO 5.6 MILLION.
UM, YEAH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, I SHOOT EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT, I THINK WE'RE GETTING ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS FOR, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS NOW, UH, FOR NEXT YEAR EACH, EACH DISTRICT, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, LET'S, LET'S ADD THIS TO THAT DISTRIBUTION AND HAVE 1.5 MILLION INSTEAD OF THIS AND GET, LET IT UP TO EACH COUNCIL PERSON TO DETERMINE WHAT'S BEST FOR THEIR DISTRICT.
UH, WITH THIS ADDITIONAL FUNDING HERE, IT'S, UM, ABOUT $500,000 PER DISTRICT TO ADD TO THAT, UH, THAT WERE ALREADY BEING DISTRIBUTED.
OTHER THAN THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE GOT ALL CAPITAL PROJECTS, UM, ON, ON MY LIST.
I, I DON'T WANT TO GO ONTO EACH ONE OF 'EM.
EACH ONE OF 'EM ARE, UH, VALID PROJECTS WITHIN MY DISTRICT THAT ARE NEEDED.
AND, UM, I'D, I'D LIKE TO GET EACH ONE OF 'EM.
OF COURSE, I KNOW THAT THAT'S MORE THAN, UH, WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, HALF OF THE 5.6 VERSUS THE 5.6 FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
LET'S JUST PUT THAT AGAINST EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT AND, UM, LEAVE IT UP TO EACH COUNCIL, DIS EACH COUNCIL PERSON DETERMINE WHAT'S THEIR PRIORITY IN THEIR DISTRICT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO, SIR.
AND JUST A REMINDER TO EVERYBODY, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION TOMORROW.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT ADDITIONAL POINTS, WE'LL BLEED IN TOMORROW.
WELL, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL MONEY TOMORROW TOO.
UH, I, I SUPPORT, UH, ONE THROUGH EIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT OFF THE FRONT PAGE.
ADDING, UH, ANOTHER COUNCIL POSITION FOR THOSE OFFICES THAT, THAT ARE REALLY, UH, TAXED WITH THE STAFF.
THEY HAVE, UH, I THINK WE SHOULD RESTORE THE L G C PHONE INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE LIFT FUND.
I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR THEIR BUYDOWN PROGRAM.
UH, AND FOR REDIRECTING THE TWO CODE OFFICERS TO, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT OUR APARTMENTS AND THE PROBLEMS WE'VE HAD THERE.
I'M ALL FOR ADDING ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO, UH, MOCKERY AND ALSO TO THE MARTIN LUTHER KING MARCH.
BOTH OF THOSE ARE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CULTURE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SAN ANTONIO.
UH, AND I CAN CERTAINLY EXPANDING, UH, THE POOL SEASON.
I THINK THAT'S A GOOD RECOMMENDATION FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE FOR NEXT YEAR.
UH, AND CREATING A POSITION THAT'S GOING TO LOOK AT CRIME AND RECIDIVISM FROM A, A WIDER POINT OF VIEW, MAYBE THROUGH WORKING WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS TO DETERMINE HOW CAN THEY ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM TOO.
UH, ON THE SECOND PAGE, NUMBER 16, UH, CONSTRUCTION, UH, OF THE, UH, DISPLACEMENT FUND.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT 500,000 IN THERE.
I THINK WE NEED TO PUT MORE MONEY INTO THAT.
UM, AND THEN ITEM NUMBER 24, ESTABLISHING RESILIENCY, ENERGY EFFICIENCY SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM.
COUNCILWOMAN, I'D LIKE TO SEE US DO THAT.
UH, I THINK WE CAN SET ASIDE THAT 14%, NINE AND A HALF MILLION AND PUT IT TO VERY GOOD USE, UH, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEMS WE'RE FACING WITH ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ET CETERA.
UH, 25, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS IS ONE OF MY RECOMMENDATIONS AND IT'S, IT'S NOT QUITE WRITTEN RIGHT? WHAT I THINK I PASSED ON TO THE CITY MANAGER TODAY WAS ASKING FOR $275,000, UH, WHICH WOULD BE $25,000 FOR EACH SENIOR COMPREHENSIVE CENTER SO THAT THEY COULD EXPAND THE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY TO USE THOSE FACILITIES.
UH, WITH $25,000, YOU COULD DO A HUNDRED TO 200 DIFFERENT EVENTS A YEAR AT NO COST TO THE PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY OR AT, YOU KNOW, VERY LOW COST.
AND I THINK THAT HELPS US EXPAND
[02:45:01]
THE USE OF THESE COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, TO BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY.UH, I SUPPORT THE SIDEWALK REPAIR CREW.
I, I KNOW WE HAD TALKED ABOUT HAVE WE HAD ONE, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT ADDING ANOTHER ONE, THEN I BELIEVE THE MANAGER DROPPED IT FROM HIS INITIAL PROPOSAL.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE TWO BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A BIG CITY WITH A LOT OF CONCERNS.
I ALSO SUPPORT NUMBER 33, WHICH IS EARLY WARNING, FLOOD DETECTION FLASHERS, UH, ON THOUSAND OAKS.
THE COUNCILMAN AND I BOTH SHARE THAT, UH, STREET WITH MANY PEOPLE WHO GO UP AND DOWN BOTH OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO THOSE ARE MY ASKS, SO TO SPEAK RIGHT NOW.
COUNCIL MEMBER, COURAGE, COUNCILMAN MAYOR.
UM, AND WE, WE CERTAINLY, WE GO TO MORE DETAIL TOMORROW.
UM, THE, THAT, THAT $1.2 MILLION IN SENIOR CENTERS.
WE'LL, WE'LL WALK THROUGH THE BASIS BEHIND IT.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY, IT IS MORE THAN WHAT YOU SUGGESTED.
WE WERE TRYING TO TREAT EVERY, UM, SENIOR CENTER EQUALLY.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY DO A SURVEY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GAUGE THOSE PARTICIPANTS IN TERMS OF DAYS, HOURS AND ACTIVITIES AND, AND MAKING SURE WE HAD THE RESOURCES SET ASIDE.
BUT WE CAN GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL TOMORROW.
ERIC, I'M GONNA MAKE IT EASY ON YOU.
UH, EXPENDITURE REQUEST ONE THROUGH 8, 16, 26 ON 16, UH, THAT IS, UH, CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND MAKE, LEMME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY.
IS, IS THAT, UM, IS THAT FOR, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES? IS THE INTENT THERE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY, UH, MUNICIPAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS? YEAH.
THAT'S WHAT THE COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA WAS TALKING ABOUT SURE.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONE COUNCILMAN IMPLIES THAT I'D REACHED OUT TO YOU ABOUT AS WELL.
UH, NOT TOO LONG AGO, I, IF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WOULD BE WILLING TO ENTERTAIN AND I WOULD MOVE THAT UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, UM, FOR THAT FUND.
AND THEN ON 26, UH, SIDEWALK REPAIR CREW, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM MULTIPLE CONSTITUENTS, INCLUDING MOST RECENTLY PAT OTTEN.
UH, HE, UH, HE'S ONE OF MY CONSTITUENTS.
HE'S GOT A, A SIDEWALK THAT HAS A TREE ROOTS THAT ARE PUSHING IT UP AND IT'S BUCKLED AND HE'S SEEN PEOPLE TRIP OVER IT AT NIGHT.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF TRAFFIC THERE.
AND HE'S ACTUALLY SPRAY PAINTED BRIGHT YELLOW ON IT, PUTS A LIGHT ON IT SO THAT PEOPLE WON'T TRIP OVER IT.
AND, UH, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET TO THOSE, UM, AS, UH, UM, THAT WE CAN GET TO, TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES SOONER.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WHAT I, WHAT SOME OF YOU ALL HAVE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT, BUT I HAVEN'T SUBMITTED YET, UM, IS, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES $250,000 TO ASSIST CONS, UH, RESIDENTS IN, UH, PROTESTING THEIR PROPERTY TAXES.
AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE BUMP THAT UP TO A HALF A MILLION.
SO A 250,000 INCREASE OVER THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, UH, UH, PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON OUR NOISE ORDINANCE TASK FORCE AND WE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAY COME UP WITH SOME NEW PROPOSAL HERE SOON.
BUT, UH, I'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR MUSIC VENUES, NIGHTCLUBS, BAR OWNERS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE WORKING IN GOOD FAITH TO TRY TO, UH, PUT SOME SOUND INSTALLATION IN THEIR, IN THEIR ESTABLISHMENT OR, UM, INSTALL AN UPGRADED SOUND SYSTEM THAT, THAT HELPS CONTAIN THE SOUND AS OPPOSED TO PROJECT THE SOUND ACROSS THE STREET AND OVER TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE HAVE $150,000 FUND IN THERE FOR GRANTS FOR THOSE KINDS OF UPGRADES.
UM, AND THEN, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE THE, THE AMOUNT OF TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY TOOL SHED.
SO I'D LIKE TO, UH, REQUEST THAT WE HAVE, UH, $50,000 THERE TO INCREASE TOOLS IN THE TOOL SHED.
NOT JUST FOR CODE COMPLIANCE, UH, PURPOSES, BUT ALSO FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OPERATING COMMUNITY GARDENS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO COME GET TOOLS FOR, TO USE FOR THOSE AS WELL.
NO, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UH, 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF I DID.
I AM IN SUPPORT OF THE RESILIENCY, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM, BUT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE IF WE CANNOT GET C P S TO GIVE MORE OF A COMMITMENT WITH THEIR STEP PROGRAM TO, TO FALL IN LINE WITH WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
'CAUSE I KNOW BECAUSE I SIT ON THE RAC COMMITTEE, I KNOW THEY'RE STILL IN CONVERSATION ABOUT ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE GONNA COME OUT.
SO, AND, UH, LET ME SHARE SOMETHING THAT I THINK COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, WHEN COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL TALKED ABOUT COMING BACK LATER ON IN THE YEAR WITH A PROGRAM AND MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE USE OF THOSE FUNDS IN THOSE FOUR CATEGORIES.
UH, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT ALIGNING THAT WITH WHEN C P
[02:50:01]
S COMES BACK TO THE COUNCIL ON THE FOLLOW UP, UH, ON THE STEP QUESTIONS THE COUNCIL HAD IN JUNE.SO IT MAY MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO DO THOSE AT THE SAME TIME.
AND THAT'S WHAT OUR INTENT IS.
I THINK I'M GONNA PROPOSE A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO FIX THE Q SYSTEM
UM, NO, BUT SERIOUSLY, UH, ONE QUESTION I DO WANNA ASK IS, UM, ERIC, IS IT POSSIBLE TO POST, UH, THIS MEMO ONLINE FOR ANYONE WHO'S VIEWING THE, THE VIDEO TODAY? IT'S ALL ONLINE.
AND THAT WOULD BE FOUND ON THE PRIME GOV SYSTEM.
I THINK WE PROBABLY WANT TO CONNECT THAT.
LIKE WHEN PEOPLE COME IN AND SEE THE VIDEO, THEY MAY NOT KNOW WHERE TO GET IT.
WE CAN DO COUNCIL, SPLIT IT ON THE FRONT PAGE.
WE HAVE THE BUDGET INFORMATION ON THE BANNER MM-HMM.
'CAUSE MY TEAM DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHERE IT IS.
UM, SO, UH, IN GENERAL, I, UM, UH, THIS ISN'T ALWAYS A STRAIGHTFORWARD PROCESS, RIGHT? IT'S LIKE, HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN I GET TO SUPPORT MY, MY AMENDMENT? BUT, UH, I'M GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THINGS THAT ARE CITYWIDE THAT ARE BENEFICIAL FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
UM, AND I I'M GONNA TEASE SOMEBODY HERE, AND I WAS LISTENING TO A RADIO SHOW EARLIER TODAY, AND I HEARD SOMEONE AT THIS TABLE SCOFF AT THE INVESTMENT IN SIDEWALKS, AND THEY SAID, SIDEWALKS, THEY COULD HAVE PUT THAT IN THE BOND.
WHY DIDN'T THAT GO IN THE BOND? UM,
SO, UM, I CAN'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THAT COUNSELING, SO NO, BUT, BUT IN GENERAL, I, I DO QUESTION, UM, THE CAPITAL, UH, REQUESTS THAT ARE IN HERE, BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE ALL GETTING A MILLION DOLLARS IN CAPITAL SO THAT IT DOES GIMME SOME, SOME CONSTERNATION IN TERMS OF, OF THE CAPITAL, UM, UH, REQUEST.
HOWEVER, UM, I, I AM SUPPORTIVE OF ONE THROUGH EIGHT.
SO BASICALLY ANYTHING THAT HAS MULTIPLE COUNCIL MEMBER SUPPORT ON IT AND THE EXPANSION OF THE POOL SYSTEM, THE POOL, UH, SEASON AND TIMES, UM, THE, THE POSITION ON CRIME AND RECIDIVISM, UM, ARTS FUNDING, SPAY AND NEUTER FACILITY, THE SENIOR PROGRAMMING AND THE EXTENSION OF HOURS OF THE, OF THE SENIOR CENTERS.
UM, AND ALSO OF THE SIDEWALK REPAIR CREW.
THE OTHER ONES I'LL, I'LL JUST NEED TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT 'EM.
UM, IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE QUEUE? BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF COUNT.
I TOO AM I'M GONNA TRY TO DO IT BY NUMBER, IF THAT HELPS YOU, ERIC, OR SHOULD I SAY WHAT THEY ALL ARE? NO, IT'S FINE.
WELL YOU, YOU, YOU MIGHT WANNA SAY IT.
UM, SPAY AND NEUTER I'M INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE OF.
AND SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN FIND SOME WAY TO INCREASE OUR CAPACITY.
I WAS A LITTLE SALTY THAT I THOUGHT THAT THIS BUDGET, WE'D BE ABLE TO GET MORE SPAY AND NEUTER SURGERIES, BUT REALLY IT'S JUST WE'RE ABLE TO PAY MORE FOR THEM, UM, WHICH ISN'T GOING TO ADDRESS OUR PROBLEM.
AND IF THAT WORKS OUT, I WANNA TRY IT IN INDEED.
YEAH, THAT ONE IS THE DISTRICT THREE REQUEST FOR THE CHILDREN'S, UH, SHELTER FOR A PILOT PROGRAM ADDRESSING YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
ALTHOUGH I WILL ALSO FLAG FOR SOME OF THESE REQUESTS, I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THEY, AND I WOULD URGE THEM TO APPLY FOR, UM, OPPORTUNITIES LIKE ARPA, THE CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND, ALTHOUGH FOR 16, THE CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT FUND.
IS THAT WHAT WE WERE ALL KIND OF TALKING? IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GRANTS FOR BUSINESSES IMPACTED BY CONSTRUCTION, IF THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
UM, THE HOUSING TRUST 17 ITEM 23 PROGRAMMING FOR SENIORS AT THE, AT THE DONNA COMMUNITY CENTER, SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, UM, AS WELL AS 24, 25 AND 26.
UM, WITH 25, I'M WONDERING, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES MONEY? SO IF WE HAVE THE FACILITIES ALREADY, CAN WE JUST CREATE AGREEMENTS WITH ENTITIES TO, WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO UM, OPERATE DURING THOSE HOURS? IS THAT A POSSIBILITY?
[02:55:02]
SURE.SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS IS BOTH THE STAFFING, WHO'S GONNA BE OPENING THE CENTER, MANAGING THE INDIVIDUALS THAT COME IN, ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE WORK THAT WE DO AT THE SENIOR CENTERS TODAY.
THAT'S WHAT THIS IS FOCUSING ON.
UM, THE APA FUNDS THAT THROUGH, UH, MENTAL, THE MENTAL HEALTH PIECE THAT IS ADDRESSING PROGRAMMING FOR THE SENIORS.
SO THIS IS JUST KEEPING THE DOORS OPEN FOR ADDITIONAL HOURS.
I'M ALSO SUPPORTIVE OF NUMBER 26, THE SIDEWALK REPAIR CREW, AS WELL AS 30 THE MCALLISTER PARK, LITTLE LEAGUE EFFICIENCY AND CAR CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENTS.
THOUGH I WOULD ALSO CHALLENGE TO SEE IF THAT MIGHT FIT IN YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCCUE RODRIGUEZ.
I'M GONNA FOLLOW THE, THE GUIDANCE I GUESS OF THE CITY MANAGER AND GO AHEAD AND READ OUT THE ONES THAT I'M
ONE IS TO ADD A POSITION FOR EACH COUNCIL OFFICE.
UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR COUNCIL OFFICES HAVE GROWN AND, UH, BECAUSE OF REDISTRICTING AND, UH, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S AN INCONSISTENT, UH, CONSTITUENT SERVICE LOAN, UH, BUT CONSTITUENT SERVICE, UH, WORKLOAD, UH, IN OFFICES AND SOME OF US DEFINITELY COULD USE MORE STAFF.
UM, THEN ON RESTORE NUMBER TWO, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR STAFF, UM, ARE GETTING A PAY RAISE JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE CITY, UH, BUT ARE, WE'RE GONNA BE LOSING SOME OF THEIR ALLOWANCES AND STIPENDS.
AND SO FOR THE LOWEST PAID STAFF MEMBERS THAT KIND OF CAME OUT SOMETHING THAT WAS CLOSE TO A BREAK EVEN DEAL AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET AHEAD MORE AND NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE.
WELL, IT WAS, I THINK THERE'S SOME CONFUSION ABOUT CAR ALLOWANCE.
UM, BUT IT'S THE PARKING STIPEND AT $65 IN THE CELL PHONE ALLOWANCE.
AND THAT WAS AN ADJUSTMENT WE MADE FOR THE REST OF THE CIVILIAN WORKFORCE.
BUT, BUT NOT THE CAR ALLOWANCE.
THE CAR ALLOWANCE IS STILL IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT, IS THAT IN ADDITION TO THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, THERE'S A 20% DECREASE IN DEDUCTIBLES FOR HEALTHCARE.
SO EVERYBODY SAID SHOULD, SHOULD SEE A BREAK IN THAT AS WELL.
UM, I'M INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING LYFT FUND, UM, IN THE, THE LOAN INTEREST BUY DOWN PROGRAM AND, UM, INTERESTED IN SEEING SOME, UH, CODE OFFICERS, UH, BEING FOCUSED ON, UM, INSPECTIONS OF APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
UM, SOME SUPPORT OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTES ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, AND I'M IN SUPPORT OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE MARTIN LUTHER KING MARCH.
UM, AND, UH, I'M VERY MUCH IN SUPPORT OF EXPANDING THE POOL SEASON.
UM, AND THEN I, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR, UH, THE LEADERSHIP OF COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ TO PUSH FOR MORE HOLISTIC WAYS OF ADDRESSING, UH, AND REDUCING CRIME IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO I'M SUPPORTIVE OF, UH, CREATING A POSITION FOR CRIME AND RECIDIVISM OVER THERE.
ALRIGHT, UM, ERIC, AS WE PREPARE FOR TOMORROW, UM, REMIND US HOW MUCH MONEY, UH, IN TERMS OF SURPLUS WE HAVE TO ALLOCATE TOWARDS AMENDMENTS UNLESS THERE ARE CUTS INDICATED.
SO $5.6 MILLION OVER, OVER TWO YEARS.
UM, THAT, UH, AND I THINK WHAT I'LL DO, UH, WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL TAKE THE FEEDBACK FROM TODAY, REDO THIS LIST, UH, WE DID HEAR SOME NEW ONES AT THE, AT THE MEETING THIS AFTERNOON.
WE'LL ADD THEM TO THE LIST AND WE'LL REDO THEM IN THE ORDER OF WHICH WE THINK WE HEARD THE MOST CONSENSUS AND GIVE YOU A TOTAL A SUBTOTAL AND THAT'LL GIVE YOU, THAT'LL BE A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR THE COUNCIL TOMORROW AFTERNOON.
OBVIOUSLY IF THERE'S OTHER REVENUES THAT WANNA BE ADJUSTED OR REDUCTIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE, THEN WE'RE BETTER POSITIONED, THE COUNCIL'S BETTER POSITIONED TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE AT.
I MEAN, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF CONSENSUS AROUND, UH, ONE THROUGH ONE THROUGH EIGHT.
UM, AND UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER ONES LIKE THE CONSTRUCTION DISPLACEMENT, SO WE'LL LOOK AT THAT, REFORMULATE THIS LIST, PUT IT BACK ONLINE TOMORROW AND GET IT TO COUNCIL, SAY BY NOON TOMORROW.
UM, THAT WAY EVERYBODY'S PREPARED, UM, FOR THE TWO O'CLOCK SESSION.
ANDY, ANYTHING ELSE? WE HAVE AN EXEC.
TIME'S 5:09 PM ON THE 13TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2022.